Cara Meeker, Concord School Board

I am deeply frustrated and disappointed in New Hampshire’s recently enacted law to effectively ban all transgender girls from participating in school sports. Not only is it in conflict with federal anti-discrimination laws and rules, it is in opposition to our school district’s policies on discrimination and transgender student care. It is also notably incompatible with our district policies on athletic participation, which favors inclusion and educational experiences over the sole goal of winning. This law puts our district and our families in a terrible position – one where noncompliance is a legal risk, but compliance means we fail in our duty to uphold, protect, and educate all of the children in our care (not to mention also puts us at legal risk).

This legislation accompanies a litany of anti-LGBTQ bills that have come before the legislature in recent years. Anti-LGBTQ advocates are using sports participation as a trojan horse for outright discrimination against our youth. And they are hoping that the discomfort of some to even discuss the gender spectrum will work to their advantage. I, for one, am ready to push past discomfort for the sake of our kids.

I have heard the arguments that transgender students, by participating and doing well in their sport, would harm other girls and therefore we must step in to protect them. Notice the inference here — that the lives and educational outcomes of cisgender girls matter more than the outcomes for transgender girls. That the best solution is to exclude one to “protect” the other. That is not fair. It is not fair to exclude a child from something that brings them joy, that teaches them valuable skills, that helps them feel more confident in their body and mind, that helps them build community. It is not fair to only be worried about the potential (and often only perceived) harm to girls around competition rather than worry about the very real harm that exclusion and social isolation does to young people when we tell them that they don’t fit, that they don’t belong.

To my friends who value sports and competition and struggle with this, I get it. Is this issue complex? Absolutely. How does everybody fit in? Great question. Sometimes the rules of play we’ve had in the past don’t fit neatly with the diversity of the community of today. But it is our responsibility to meet that challenge. And I think we can work on solutions that don’t sideline our students. And we can certainly do it without falling prey to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. While this law works its way through the courts (lawsuits have already been filed), let us all remember our duty to uphold, protect, and educate all of the children in our care the best we can.