Central Bucks School Board rules transgender athletes must play with teams of sex assigned at birth

DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Transgender athletes in the Central Buck School District will have to play for teams based on the sex they were assigned at birth, according to the school board.

Some speakers called the policy discriminatory, others said this was necessary.

The ruling passed in a 6-3 vote during a school board meeting Tuesday and comes on the heels of another controversial decision the board made regarding a six-figure severance package for its resigned superintendent.

"The rights of women and girls to play sports -- it gives them the opportunity for scholarships and other accolades and it keeps them safe," said one speaker.

"When we tell transgender girls that they can't play girls' sports or transgender boys that they can't play boys' sports, they miss out on this important childhood experience and all the lessons it teaches," said another speaker.

The district has faced backlash this year after the board barred school staff from using students' chosen names and pronouns without parental permission. The board also enforced policies that prohibited classroom discussions that opponents say targeted LGBTQ+ students.

This all comes less than a week after Democrats swept the school board race. However, they don't take control until December.

What many people are asking now, however, is what will happen to these controversial policies when Democrats fill the majority of seats on the board.

Current board member Tabitha Dell'Angelo says the proposal came seemingly out of nowhere last fall.

"It wasn't an issue in the district. As far as I know, there weren't any trans kids who were trying to play on sports teams and being told no or yes," she said.

Another current board member, Karen Smith, who is also one of the five Democrats just elected to take over the majority, says the policy was written with the help of a national conservative group.

"Apparently, the board majority had been working with the Independence Law Center for months on drafting the policy," said Smith.

Drexel University Professor Dr. Michael Kozak says the new Democratic-led board will have to go through a lengthy process to change that policy.

"That doesn't surprise me that they approved that policy. But the new board coming in, if they're against that policy, they can rescind or revise that policy," said Kozak.

The same goes for the other controversial policies passed by the conservative board over the past two years.

"Not necessarily chucking everything out the window right away, we want to revise the policies and work with our community," said Smith on changing current policies.

One thing the board can't undo is the $700,000 severance package passed by the outgoing board on Tuesday night.

It's something Democratic board members say they didn't even know about.

"Didn't know about it until Monday evening and our meeting was Tuesday evening," said Smith.

"The board majority just excluded us from everything," added Dell'Angelo.

Despite this, the new board set to take over is eyeing changes.

Smith believes it could take roughly three months or longer depending on whether a community discussion is needed to enact these changes. The goal is to reflect what the community wants, she added.

Action News reached out to the current Republican members of the school board but didn't hear back.