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The California Department of Education (CDE) has stood by its demand that the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) switch sports associations to a league that allows biological male trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
The switch would require the school to embark on much longer and more treacherous road trips to competing schools, causing distress and safety concerns for students and parents.
Students had to travel through California’s Donner Pass, a 7,056-foot high mountain pass. In winter, the pass is known to be dangerous due to extreme weather conditions such as heavy snowfall, strong winds and icy roads. The high altitude and frequent storms contribute to treacherous travel conditions, including the potential for avalanches.
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At a school board meeting this week, locals voiced their opposition to CDE’s mandate for TTUSD to switch from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
Truckee High School girls track and field athlete Ava Cockrum spoke about the danger the commute would pose to her and other students.
“It’s dangerous,” Cockrum said. “It just doesn’t seem safe at all … you will be exposed to danger.”
Cockrum also objected to the idea of girls competing against men.
“I don’t see how it would be fair for female athletes to compete against a biological male because they’re stronger, they’re taller, they’re faster… It’s just not fair,” Cockrum added.
The teenager was applauded by the locals in attendance.
TTUSD has historically competed in the NIAA due to its proximity to Nevada schools. But after the NIAA changed its policy to only allow biological women to compete in girls’ sports earlier this year, the CDE demanded that the TTUSD switch to the CIF.
TTUSD requested to delay the move, it announced in a memo last week, “due to significant logistical challenges.” But the district claims the state is showing no leniency, and defying the order could result in financial and legal penalties.
“Last week, TTUSD received a mandatory order from the California Department of Education (CDE) ordering our athletic programs to move to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) beginning in the 2026/2027 school year due to a formal complaint filed against TTUSD,” the release read.
“The decision is no longer within TTUSD’s local control. We are legally bound to follow this CDE order… If we fail to comply, TTUSD will be in violation of state law, which could result in severe financial penalties and legal action against the district.”
CDE issued a statement addressing the situation to ABC 10.
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A school bus in downtown Truckee in Truckee, Calif., Dec. 13, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“California law requires that students be permitted to participate on the sports team that corresponds to their gender identity. California local education agencies (LEAs) are required to follow California law regardless of which state athletic association they join,” the statement said.
The situation has attracted several politicians in California.
Rep. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., called CDE’s demand “a new low.
“This is a new low. California is forcing Tahoe Truckee Unified to compete in CA instead of Nevada, despite this being impractical and unsafe for athletes whose seasons will move from spring to winter in a snowy area. The reason: Nevada doesn’t allow men in women’s sports,” Kiley wrote on X.
“For 40 years, Tahoe Truckee Unified has chosen to compete in Nevada because sports like football and tennis are played in the spring there. In California, those are winter sports, which is impractical in snowy areas like Tahoe and raises travel safety concerns.
“Yet the state has overridden this local decision for no other reason than to preserve the ability for biological males in the district’s schools to compete in the female division. This will decimate multiple sports, and schools in the district may not even be able to field teams.”
Nevada Lt. Governor Stavros Anthony also condemned the move in an X post.
“California is forcing schools to leave Nevada, despite decades of successful competition in our state. We take a sensible approach with female athletes. Since my Task Force on Protecting Women’s Sports, there has not been an incident involving men playing in women’s sports,” Anthony wrote.
The CIF is one of many high school athletic conferences in blue states to defy Trump’s executive order since it was signed on Feb. 5.
It is currently under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for its defiance of the order, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon has warned Gov. Gavin Newsom that his state could be subject to federal funding freezes if it continues to defy.
