The group that runs high school sports in Nebraska has established a policy allowing for transgender athletes to compete on sports teams. The Nebraska School Activities Association established the policy to get ahead of the issue since there have been no requests as yet from transgender athletes. From the Lincoln Journal Star:

The policy, which was approved with no fanfare, requires students who want to participate in a sport with members of the gender opposite from their biological gender to prove their gender identity through the testimony of experts such as hormonal experts and psychologists.

No students have exercised the policy, nor does NSAA Executive Director Rhonda Blanford-Green expect any will soon. But the association wanted to prepare itself for when the issue arises, she said.

"The transgender policy in no way advocates for any type of education," she said. "It is a blueprint for identifying and making sure we are not making arbitrary decisions."

The NSAA would only get involved if a student is denied the ability to play by his school and then appeals. Nebraska is one of 12 more than half a dozen states with a policy covering participation by transgender high school athletes; six other states are considering legislation.

Blanford-Green shows a lot of common sense by establishing the policy and knocking down the fallacy that this would encourage students to become transgender. "A policy doesn't create transgender students," she said. "The student is what the student is. … When you don't have a policy, decisions are made based on emotions, and that's when the issues escalate."

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