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California's largest school district is the latest in the state to pass a resolution calling for protections for women's sports from trans athletes, a move that runs counter to current state law. The resolution which passed this weekcame just weeks after a controversial incident involving a women's volleyball match.
Kern High School District (KHSD) Trustee Derek Tisinger told Fox News Digital that he and his colleagues had to witness Christian school fine to one of his area schools because of a trans athlete last month.
Bakersfield Christian pulled out of its freshman and sophomore game at Ridgeview High School in the last week of September, explaining that “as a school founded on the authority of Scripture, we affirm the biblical view that gender is determined by God at conception.”
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It was difficult for Tiesinger and many of his colleagues to witness this.
“People try to say, ‘Hey, this only affects a small number of people,’ but there were probably 30 girls who trained and dreamed of playing volleyball their whole lives and never got to play,” Tisinger said.
“Sitting here and talking about this, it’s almost funny.”
Tisinger also likes transathlete in his district at the center of the situation.
“This young man has every opportunity to play any sport, a man's sport, he can play golf, he can play tennis, he can do whatever he wants, but I don't believe he has the right to come in and push a girl off the team, take away her playing ability and possibly take away her chance to get a scholarship in the future,” he added.
Tisinger, a former teacher, led the effort to pass the resolution, sponsored by Chino Valley Unified School Board President Sonia Shaw. Tiesinger's efforts resulted in a favorable 3-2 vote, making Kern Middle School District the 16th institution in California to pass a resolution calling for change.
“People in our community and our county know that we are concerned about biological boys playing girls' sports, and we don't want that to happen,” Tisinger added.
But Tisinger said he and many of his colleagues will have to weigh the potential for backlash and even lawsuits if they want to pass it.
INSIDE GAVIN NEWSOM'S TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL CRISIS
A group of activist parents and teachers sent a letter to KHSD suggesting possible legal action if they do not comply with state laws allowing biological males to participate in girls' sports.
“Your county may face legal action,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Your role is clear: to comply with the California Education Code. Make sure your school athletics programs do not implement this discriminatory pilot policy at the local level. The law stands on the side of fairness, privacy and dignity. Let's keep it.”
But Tiesinger also heard the message from the federal government and the president. Donald Trumpwho signed an executive order for schools to allow women's and women's sports only or risk losing federal funding. The US Department of Justice is currently suing California state agencies for refusing to comply with this order.
Tisinger believed that this resolution was a way for his district to choose a side in the conflict that it could support.
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“We're getting sued from both sides, so if we get sued, let's be on the right side,” said Tisinger, who asked his colleagues at Monday's meeting to pass the resolution.
“The threat of losing federal funding is a pretty serious situation, so we don't take it lightly. I don't want to lose federal funding. Our school district has approximately 45,000 students. So it's very important to us that we have federal funds to pay our great teachers that we have and take care of our students. Therefore, we should not find ourselves in a situation where we are blackmailed one way or another.”
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