The Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 school board on July 15 unanimously approved the first reading of the JBAA Preserving Fairness and Safety in Sports policy and the second reading of the revised nondiscrimination policy, both of which have received backlash from community members and attention from statewide news outlets like Chalkbeat and CPR News.
JBAA, which was approved as an emergency policy for 90 days in June, bars biological males in the district, even those who may identify as transgender, from competing in female sports.
The nondiscrimination policy, which was revised to align with new federal policies, will reportedly remove protections for “sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”
The JBAA sports policy was first adopted as an emergency policy at the school board meeting on June 24, with an expiration date of 90 days. This policy, which aligns with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201, bars biological males from competing in female sports, noting “inherent biological differences” between males and females that usually gives males a significant athletic advantage over their female peers.
Allowing boys to compete in girls sports, according to the policy, harms a female athlete’s chances for opportunities, athletic recognition and college scholarships.
The policy also requires that hotel accommodations and locker rooms rooms be organized by biological sex, ensuring safety and privacy for all athletes. Districts who do not comply with this executive order risk losing federal funding.
At their June meeting, the board noted that they are seeking to join District 49’s lawsuit against Aubrey Sullivan, director of the Colorado Civil Rights Division, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the Colorado High School Activities Association and others.
In the lawsuit, District 49 says that CHSAA bylaws and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act force schools allow biological males to compete against girls, risking federal funding cuts or state penalties.
Other Colorado districts, besides District 49 and Montezuma-Cortez, are joining the lawsuit. Chalkbeat reported that Academy 20, Colorado Springs 11 districts, Monument Academy, The Classical Academy, James Irwin Charter Schools and Education ReEnvisioned BOCES have also requested to join as plaintiffs.
State Board of Education members Sherri Wright, who was formally a member of the Montezuma-Cortez school board, and Steve Durham support Policy JBAA, said Wright when she spoke to the MCSD school board on Tuesday.
Wright clarified that her and Durham’s stance is not an official state board position and emphasized the policy’s alignment with Title IX’s original intent to protect girls sports and ensure their safety.
The board also unanimously approved the second reading of Policy AC, “Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity,” along with related exhibits (AC-E-1, AC-E-2, AC-R Option 1 and AC-R2, covering Title IX sexual harassment procedures).
Revisions that remove the word “safe” and protections for “sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression,” were particularly noted as concerns for community members who have addressed the board in recent meetings.
At their most recent meeting last Tuesday, board member Mike Lynch brought up the nondiscrimination policy during discussion items, specifically addressing the word “safe.” He shared that the nondiscrimination policy does not affect the district’s policy ADD for Safe Schools, as that policy already addresses safety for students and staff. He added that “safe” means different things for different people.
The policy will reportedly still protect against unlawful discrimination, even for those who identify as LGBTQ+, despite the removal of the language in the nondiscrimination policy.
“If it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, then the policy covers it,” Lynch said.
Emily Christensen said she was “extremely concerned” about the board’s removal of the word “safe” and “sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression” from “its list of protected classes” when citizens addressed the board at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Eliminating this language will not make these identities disappear,” Christensen said. “It will only make those individuals feel less seen, less valued and less protected.”
Now that the school board has approved the second reading for the new nondiscrimination policy, the policy is adopted as written or amended, according to information from the board.
Attempts to learn the identities of those who served on the subcommittee that helped rewrite the nondiscrimination policy by The Journal were unsuccessful.
