The Tecumseh Public School district is formulating plans to implement two new laws for the 2022-2023 school year that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law earlier this year.
The first law, known as the Save Women’s Sports Act, will require any individual participating in a school athletic team at the middle school, high school, or collegiate level to sign an affidavit confirming their biological sex before each new school year. A parent or guardian will be required to sign the affidavit if the student-athlete is under 18. The law is designed to prevent a male or a transgender female from participating in women’s sports.
“Athletic teams designated for ‘females,’ ‘women’ or ‘girls’ shall not be open to students of the male sex,” Section E of the law states. Proponents say the Save Women’s Sports Act is a common sense law providing female athletes fair competition and opportunities for higher-level competi tion. “The reality is: Men are biologically different than women,” said Stitt. “Men have more muscle mass; their bones are larger and denser, they have larger lungs and wider airways.” Opponents argue that the law further isolates transgender youth, an already marginalized group.
Regardless, the Save Women’s Sports Act is now Oklahoma law, and school districts must comply for the 2022-2023 school year. Tecumseh Public Schools has begun putting a plan together to efficiently collect the required affidavit signatures from student-athletes and their parents. Superintendent Robert Kinsey said the district plans to have affidavit signings on enrollment day on July 19. The district will work with athletes who aren’t able to attend enrollment day to get their signed affidavit before school starts.
The Save Women’s Sports Act will affect about 700 athletes in grades seven through twelve in the Tecumseh school district. Kinsey said they haven’t had any problems regarding female athletics in the past but will do their best to abide by the new law.
Tecumseh Public Schools is also working on implementing SB615, a law requiring individuals in schools to use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex, not necessarily their preferred gender identity. The law states: “To ensure privacy and safety, each public school and public charter school that serves students in prekindergarten through twelfth grades in this state shall require every multiple occupancy restroom or changing area designated as follows: 1. For the exclusive use of the male sex; or 2. For the exclusive use of the female sex.”
The law also requires schools to provide a facility for individuals who do not wish to use the bathroom consistent with their biological sex. Each school building will have to provide a oneperson bathroom or changing room.
Kinsey said the Tecumseh Public School buildings already have one-person bathrooms individuals can use instead of gendered bathrooms. The district will not have to build any new facilities. They are also formulating a plan to give access to the one-person facilities in a timely manner at something like a sporting event where the facilities are not as easily accessible.
The Oklahoma legislature created the law in response to Stillwater Public School’s six-year-old policy stating individuals may use the bathroom based on their gender identity, not their biological sex. SB615 also mimics legislation recently passed in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.
School districts unable to comply with the law’s provisions will receive a 5% decrease in state funding for the following fiscal year.
In response to the law, organizations such as Freedom Oklahoma and the Human Rights Campaign said trans youth in Oklahoma “are yet again being bullied by our lawmakers,” and Oklahoma lawmakers have been “relentless in their attacks on LGBTQ+ people.”
Republican Sen. David Bullard of Durant, SB615 author, said, “I’m proud of the legislature and Governor for joining me in approving this common-sense legislation requiring all individuals to use the restrooms and changing rooms that line up with their biological sex. We must not allow the shrills of the far left to replace facts of biological science and irrefutable evidence.”
Kinsey said that while the district will do its best to comply with the new laws, education is the priority, and they won’t get bogged down by political issues.
The Save Women’s Sports Act and SB615 will change the school landscape in Oklahoma. School districts are scrambling to create compliance plans for the 2022-2023 school year before the summer ends. The Tecumseh school board will discuss and vote on final implementation plans concerning the Save Women’s Sports Act and SB615 at their next meeting on June 27, 2022, at 6 p.m. at the Tecumseh Early Childhood Center.
