Kennewick School Board Files Title IX Complaint vs. OSPI, WIAA

The Kennewick School Board has filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights with the Department of Education, over what they say is a violation of Title IX by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), Superintendent (SPI) Chris Reykdal, and the WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association).

  What is Title IX?

Title IX (9) was passed into Federal law in 1972, and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools. It applies to all education entities that receive Federal funding, and was the driver for today's modern women's sports programs.  It prohibits sexual discrimination in sex ed programs, athletics, employment, and more.

Examples of Title IX violations would include unequal sports,STEM, educational opportunities for women, and discriminating based on pregnancy.

KSD now joins Tumwater and Moses Lake in filing complaints against OSPI and the WIAA for allowing boys to compete in girls' sports. In 2024, an East Valley HS boy was allowed to complete in girls' track and won the girls' Class A 400-meter state championship despite being assigned boy gender at birth.

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In February, 2 Tumwater HS girls refused to play in a basketball game vs. Shelton HS because Shelton had an 18-year-old boy on their girl's team. The girl's family filed a Title IX complaint, and Tumwater and Moses Lake have changed their policies to forbid boys from playing girls' sports. Moses Lake went even further, modifying state-mandated locker and restroom policies that required boys who identify as girls be allowed to use the girl's facilities.

  Kennewick School Board files complaint

According to information released by the District, says OSPI and WIAA are denying girls their fair and equal opportunity to participate and compete by allowing boys on girls' teams, which also jeopardizes their safety and security-which violates Title IX.

The complaint also cites OSPI's gender-inclusive"guidance" or mandates concerning how schools treat students who choose to identify with a certain gender. The suit seeks immediate relief from the Department of Education by affirming that Presidential Executive Orders pre-empt and supersede state laws, along with other changes.

Growing numbers of schools are filing complaints because they do not want to risk losing Federal funding by violating Title IX by allowing boys in girl's sports.

 WA State SPI Reykdal recently said in a video, which made national news, that it is not defined that there are only two genders.

The read the entire complaint click here.