Administrators in Washington now have some guidance to answer those questions, as the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) has become the first state association to enact a policy on transgender participation in high school athletics.

According to Mike Colbrese, Executive Director of the WIAA, requests for help from four separate schools within three months last year prompted the policy. Transgender athletes at the schools wanted to compete as their new gender in cheerleading, dance, and volleyball.

"We realized we needed a policy, so we asked other state associations what they do," Colbrese says. "None of them had policies, either. The best one we could find came from the International Olympic Committee, so we based our rules on that."

Under the new WIAA rules, any athlete who has undergone gender reassignment prior to puberty can compete as the new gender. After puberty, an athlete can compete as his or her new gender only after completing surgical reassignment and undergoing hormone therapy for long enough to eliminate gender-related advantages. In addition, the WIAA policy mandates a two-year waiting period after surgical removal of gonads before an athlete can compete, an element that is advised in the IOC policy but not required. The policy only applies to participation in athletics, not in WIAA-sanctioned activities, such as cheer.

"We also added an appeals process," Colbrese says. "Any athlete who is denied the opportunity to try out can bring their case to us and we will review it."

The policy has already drawn criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an organization that advocates for the rights of gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals. These groups argue that the policy makes little sense for a high school population, since few surgeons will perform gender reassignment surgery on minors.

The WIAA says it will keep refining its policy. "We're already putting a group together to review it," Colbrese says. "The ACLU and the HRC have expressed interest in helping us and we'll involve administrators, parents, and others. But for now, we believed it was important to have a policy in place even if it isn't a finished product."

At Mount Vernon (Wash.) High School, Athletic Director Eric Monson agrees that an imperfect policy is better than no policy at all. Monson was one of the four administrators who sought help from the WIAA last spring, when a student who was born male but identifies as female wanted to try out for Mount Vernon's cheer squad. Boys do participate on the squad, but the freshman student, Jai Johnson-Baker, wanted to wear a girls' uniform and compete for a female spot on the team.

Without a policy to turn to, Monson says it was difficult to know what to do. While the school deliberated, the ACLU got involved, pressuring Mount Vernon to allow Johnson-Baker to try out for a female spot. Johnson-Baker was ultimately allowed to try out as a female, but did not make the cut.

"Fifty girls tried out for a limited number of spots and we had many juniors and seniors on the team, so it was unlikely that any individual with no experience would have made the team," Monson says. "But we were careful to allow the individual to attend and participate in every tryout."

Because cheer is an activity at Mount Vernon, not a sport, the WIAA policy doesn't prohibit Mount Vernon from allowing Johnson-Baker to try out again. Monson says the student will be welcomed back at tryouts next year.

Two other states, California and Colorado, are currently working on policies. But until more states offer guidance, Monson strongly advises a team approach. "If you encounter this issue, get other administrators involved immediately," he says. "You want as much input as you can get and you don't want to stand alone in making this type of decision."

Colbrese believes the issue can be treated much like other participation questions. "This issue is no different from others involving our eligibility rules," he says. "We need to create as many opportunities for students to participate as possible and realize not all athletes fit the same mold. But at the same time, we can't jeopardize the welfare of the group by allowing someone to compete with an unfair advantage."

The issue of transgender athletes drew attention at the NCAA level in 2005, when Division III All-American thrower Keelin Godsey, a member of Bates College's women's track and field team, announced she wanted to be identified as a male. Godsey requested to continue competing in women's track and field, although he asked that male pronouns be used to refer to him and that he be allowed to dress in a separate area from the rest of the team.

Since Godsey had not undergone any surgical procedures to alter his gender and had not taken hormones, NCAA rules still considered him a woman, and he was allowed to compete on the women's team. The athletic department agreed to use male pronouns in his athlete bio and press releases, and in May 2007, Godsey won his second NCAA Division III national championship in the hammer throw and graduated as a 16-time All-American.

Jennifer Hartshorn, Head Coach of Women's Track and Field at Bates, says the key to creating a good outcome was open communication. She met with Godsey, addressed the issue at a team meeting, and brought it up again at a conference coaches' meeting. "I think it's important for us to be aware that this can happen, but with a little preparation, it doesn't have to be a big deal," she says.

For more information on transgender athletes, go to: www.ittakesateam.org. Click on "Free Resources," and then click on "Chalk Talk."