Parents in Northern California were relieved last year after they successfully delayed a move by the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD) to abandon the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) in favor of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF). However, it appears their success will be short-lived, with California officials now insisting that TTUSD transition to the CIF by the start of the 2026-27 school year—or lose the ability to compete within an athletic division altogether.
Tahoe Truckee’s students have competed in the NIAA for decades for logistical reasons. The harsh winter weather and heavy snow in the region makes winter travel through the mountains extremely difficult—and dangerous. In fact, a recent study found one stretch of highway over Donner Summit to be one of the most dangerous highway sections in the U.S. From 2019-2023, there were 277 fatal crashes in the corridor. So, staying closer to home and competing in Nevada has always made more sense and has made it possible for students to continue competing during the winter season.
However, last May TTUSD officials notified parents that the district needed to leave the NIAA and transition to the CIF due to California’s laws on “gender identity,” including AB 1955. At issue was a new policy implemented by the NIAA last year to protect girls’ sports by making student-athlete eligibility based solely on biological sex. Thus, if TTUSD schools remained in the NIAA, they could be found in violation of California law, which protects “gender identity,” not biological sex, TTUSD officials argued.
But Tahoe Truckee parents, including Abby Edwards, objected, arguing the move to abandon the NIAA would hurt students—not only by putting them at risk of having to compete against athletes of the opposite sex, but also by limiting their ability to play certain sports at all in the winter season.
“My daughter’s not going to be able to do both soccer and snowboard team, so what is she supposed to do? They’re making them choose one sport over the other,” Edwards previously told IW Features.
TTUSD officials eventually gave in to public pushback, agreeing to delay the transition to the CIF and give students at least one more year of competing in the NIAA. But that agreed-upon delay no longer appears to be possible.
In September, TTUSD informed parents that the switch to the CIF likely would need to happen sooner than expected due to a complaint filed against the district with the California Education Department. The complaint, obtained and reviewed by IW Features, accused TTUSD of discriminating against trans-identified students by choosing to remain in the NIAA. Notably, the complaint was filed by an individual who lacked standing in the first place, according to TTUSD, which noted the individual is not a student in the district or an athlete who might be affected by the NIAA’s policy change.
Regardless, the complainant alleged: “By refusing to leave the NIAA, TTUSD is undermining the rights of transgender students and violating the very legal and ethical obligations that safeguard students in our state,” the complaint reads. “I respectfully request that your office investigate this issue and pursue appropriate legal remedies to ensure TTUSD aligns with California’s inclusive policies.”
After investigating the claim, the California Education Department informed TTUSD that it had found the complaint’s allegations to have merit, and ordered the TTUSD to present a plan to transition out of the NIAA.
“NIAA’s policy changes regarding student-athlete eligibility based solely on biological sex directly conflict with California laws protecting gender identity and expression, including EC Section 221.5(f), which permits students to participate on the athletic team consistent with their gender identity,” the California Education Department wrote in its investigation report.
TTUSD responded with a request for reconsideration, arguing the district is still in compliance with California law even if the NIAA is not.
“At this time, the District is not aware of any transgender youth who have expressed interest in participating in its 2025-2026 athletic programs,” TTUSD wrote. “There is no evidence indicating any District students have been, or will be, harmed by the NIAA’s policy revision, or that continued membership in the NIAA for the upcoming school year would result in such harm.”
TTUSD also proposed a transition plan, as required by the California Education Department, asking the state to allow the district to continue competing in the NIAA for two additional years while it worked through a realistic transition.
In December, the California Education Department rejected this plan, again insisting that TTUSD schools leave the NIAA by the start of the 2026-27 school year. The district now has until Jan. 12 to propose a plan to accomplish this.
“We know this is very important for our community,” TTUSD Superintendent Kerstin Kramer said in a school board meeting last Wednesday, adding that she and other district officials have requested a meeting with State Superintendent Tony Thurmond.
But while this legal back-and-forth plays out, Tahoe Truckee’s families have been left to try and figure out what it means for their students.
“Right now it looks like we might not even be able to play in the CIF this coming school year because we didn’t get on their roster in time,” Abby Edwards told IW Features.
And even if the district were to work out a solution with the CIF in time, TTUSD’s schools still almost certainly will not be able to compete during the winter months due to travel restrictions—the exact problem parents had hoped to avoid.
“We’re not like every other school. We’re bordering Nevada and we’re in California, but if you see our winters, there’s a wall of 20-feet of snow up here. And even in the spring, sometimes the heaviest snow we get all year is in March. We don’t have any indoor facilities,” Edwards explained.
“It’s not even about whether you’re transgender or not,” she continued, adding that while she disagrees with California law allowing students to compete according to “gender identity” and not sex, the bigger issue is California trying to force ideology onto every district in the state with no consideration for practical limitations.
“We’re not a one-size-fits-all up here,” Edwards said. “It’s not even feasible.”
Edwards and other concerned TTUSD parents are hoping California lawmakers will recognize this reality and back a bill that would grant the district a rule exemption that would allow them to continue competing in the NIAA. She noted the district already enjoys one such rule exemption for its school start time: Tahoe Truckee’s schools start at 7:30 a.m. despite state law requiring schools not to start before 8 a.m.
The other solution—one that would be even more permanent—is a legal ruling striking down California’s laws on “gender identity” altogether. Given that California’s laws are out of compliance with federal guidance on biological sex and girls’ sports, such a ruling may very well be possible. In fact, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week in two separate cases, Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.V., both of which deal with Title IX and the question of “gender identity.”
But for now, TTUSD families are left uncertain about the future of sports in their district, held hostage by a state that abandoned common sense long ago.
