Twelve Pennsylvania organizations are calling on the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to clarify its policies regarding transgender student-athletes, warning that confusion surrounding recent court decisions and federal actions could lead schools to unlawfully discriminate against trans students.
The organizations sent a letter to PIAA Executive Director Mark E. Byers urging the organization, which governs interscholastic athletics for its member schools across Pennsylvania, to make clear that transgender students remain protected under state law.
The coalition includes the Women’s Law Project, Pennsylvania Coalition for Trans Youth, Pennsylvania Youth Congress, Pittsburgh-based Trans YOUniting, TAKE Resource Center, Eastern PA Trans Equity Project, Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates, Education Law Center of Pennsylvania, Fairness Pennsylvania, ACLU of Pennsylvania, Centre LGBT+ and Red Wine & Blue.
The letter argues that Pennsylvania’s protections against sex discrimination apply to transgender people and that PIAA and public school districts have an obligation to follow those protections.
“It is therefore incumbent upon PIAA, and any public school board in Pennsylvania, to ensure that students are able to participate in sports in accordance with their gender identity and that no student is subject to discrimination on the basis of their gender identity in violation of Pennsylvania law,” the organizations wrote.
“We urge you to clarify PIAA’s policies in accordance with state law, and with your own constitution and by-laws.”
The renewed push follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, cases involving state laws restricting transgender girls and women from participating on girls’ and women’s sports teams.
The Court upheld restrictions enacted by Idaho and West Virginia, allowing states to impose such bans.
Pennsylvania, however, does not currently have an equivalent state law banning transgender students from participating on school sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
That distinction is at the heart of advocates’ demand for clearer guidance from PIAA.
The Supreme Court decision allows states to maintain certain restrictions on transgender athletes; it did not itself impose a nationwide ban on transgender participation in school sports.
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Advocates argue that Pennsylvania schools therefore remain subject to protections under Pennsylvania law, including the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the Equal Rights Amendment contained in the state constitution.
The September letter is not the first time advocates have challenged PIAA over its handling of transgender athletes.
Several organizations raised concerns with the association in March 2025 after PIAA changed its policy following an executive order from President Donald Trump targeting transgender girls and women participating in women’s sports.
PIAA previously had a policy specifically addressing transgender student-athletes. Under the earlier language, when a student’s gender was questioned or uncertain, PIAA would accept the determination made by the student’s school principal.
Following Trump’s executive order, PIAA changed that language.
The current policy instead refers to determining an athlete’s “sex” when it is “questioned or uncertain” and directs schools to consult their solicitors regarding compliance with the federal executive order.
The policy leaves those determinations with individual schools.
Advocates contend that the resulting ambiguity could allow districts to interpret the policy in ways that exclude transgender students, even though Pennsylvania has not enacted a statewide prohibition on their participation.
The concern has become more immediate following the Supreme Court’s summer decision, as school districts around Pennsylvania consider their own policies governing transgender students.
Pennsylvania has approximately 500 public school districts, meaning decisions made at the local level can result in dramatically different policies from one community to another.