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The California Department of Education (CDE) has maintained its demand that the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) change sports associations to a league that allows biological trans male athletes to compete in women’s sports.
The change would require the school to embark on much longer and more dangerous road trips to competing schools, causing distress and safety concerns among students and parents.
Students would have to travel through California’s Donner Pass, a 7,056-foot-high mountain pass. During winter, the pass is known to be dangerous due to extreme weather conditions such as heavy snowfall, strong winds, and icy roads. The high elevation and frequent storms contribute to dangerous travel conditions, including the possibility of avalanches.
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At a school board meeting this week, locals expressed opposition to the 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 athlete Ava Cockrum spoke about the danger the trip would impose on her and other students.
“It’s dangerous,” Cockrum said. “It just doesn’t seem safe at all… you’re going to be prone to danger.”
Cockrum also protested the notion that girls had to compete against men.
“I don’t see how it would be fair for female athletes to compete against a biological male because they are stronger, taller, faster… It’s just not fair,” Cockrum added.
The young man was applauded by the locals present.
Historically, TTUSD has competed in the NIAA due to its proximity to Nevada schools. However, after the NIAA changed its policy to allow only biological females to compete in women’s sports earlier this year, the CDE demanded that TTUSD switch to CIF.
TTUSD requested to delay the move, it announced in a memo last week, “due to significant logistical challenges.” But the district says the state is not showing any leniency and that defying the order could result in financial and legal penalties.
“Last week, TTUSD received a mandatory order from the California Department of Education (CDE) directing that our athletic programs be moved to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) beginning with the 2026/2027 school year due to a formal complaint filed against TTUSD,” the announcement said.
“The decision is no longer within TTUSD’s local control. We are legally obligated to follow this CDE order… If we do not comply, TTUSD will be in violation of state law, which could result in severe financial penalties and legal action against the District.”
The CDE provided a statement addressing the situation to ABC 10.
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A school bus in downtown Truckee in Truckee, California, December 13, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“California law requires that students be allowed to participate on the sports team that corresponds with their gender identity. California local educational agencies (LEAs) must follow California law regardless of which state athletic association they join,” the statement said.
The situation has drawn scrutiny from several California politicians.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., called the CDE lawsuit “a new low.”
“This is a new low. California is forcing Tahoe Truckee Unified to compete in CA instead of Nevada, even though this is impractical and unsafe for athletes whose seasons will transition from spring to winter in a snowy area. The reason: Nevada does not allow men to participate in women’s sports,” Kiley wrote in X.
“For 40 years, Tahoe Truckee Unified has chosen to compete in Nevada because sports like football and tennis are played there in the spring. In California, these are winter sports, which is not practical in snowy areas like Tahoe and presents travel safety concerns.
“Yet, the state has overturned this local decision for no other reason than to preserve the ability of biological males in district schools to compete in the women’s division. This will decimate several sports, and district schools may not even be able to field teams.”
Nevada Lieutenant Governor Stavros Anthony also condemned the measure in an X post.
“California is forcing schools out of Nevada, despite decades of successfully competing in our state. We are taking a common sense approach to female athletes. Since my Task Force on Protecting Women’s Sports, there have not been any incidents with men playing women’s sports,” Anthony wrote.
CIF is one of many high school sports conferences located in Democratic states that have defied Trump’s executive order since it was signed on February 5.
He is currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for defying the order, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon warned Gov. Gavin Newsom that his state could be subject to federal funding freezes if he continues to defy it.
