Pennsylvania is signaling it may not comply with President Trump’s recent executive order aimed at preventing boys from playing in girl’s sports, according to a statement sent to a local school district.

Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order earlier this month, surrounded by elated female athletes and hopeful young girls.

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), the organization responsible for regulating secondary school sports, responded to a Broad + Liberty request for comment two days after Trump signed the order, saying it will “comply with the law as established.”

Other media outlets received the same comment and reported it to mean that PIAA would follow the order. 

Headlines, such as the two below, appear to highlight PIAA’s alleged compliance:

PIAA to follow Trump’s order barring transgender athletes from girls sports (Pittsburgh  Post-Gazette)

PIAA to follow executive order barring transgender student-athletes from girls’ sports (TribLive)

After reading the news of PIAA’s adherence to the order, Jason Saylor, a Perkiomen Valley School Board Director, wanted clarification directly from the organization. But the message received only adds more doubt.

“The Transgender Executive Order is NOT law. Currently, PIAA has made no changes to their by-laws,” the agency responded. “We are still at status quo with how PIAA handles it with the High School principal determining the gender of the athlete,” (emphasis original).

Saylor was not able to provide a full copy of the document due to the confidentiality of the correspondence but verified that the statement above is a verbatim quote from the PIAA.

PIAA’s statement to the district is consistent with its current transgender policy for the 2024-2025 school year, “where a student’s gender is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the Principal as to the student’s gender will be accepted by PIAA.”

However, based on this statement, PIAA does not consider an executive order a law, so its responses to the media were somewhat disingenuous. Its reply to my specific request for comment on February 7, 2025, asking whether it will comply with the executive order is not exactly consistent with its response to the district above.

“PIAA is aware of the Executive Order signed Wednesday, February 5th pertaining to female sports by President Trump. We are tracking and assessing the law as it evolves and encourage all member schools to do the same. PIAA will comply with the law as established.”

PIAA did not respond immediately to a follow-up request asking whether it considers the executive order a law, but based on the statement issued to the school district, apparently it does not.

The “law” they are likely referring to is actually a regulation enacted by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC). I have written about this extensively over the past two months, but to summarize, the PHRC in 2023 changed the definition of “sex” to include gender identity. Most school districts in the state, and possibly the PIAA, are relying on this regulation — notably, not an actual law — to ignore both of the President’s orders regarding the definition of sex.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order declaring there are only two sexes. The order, entitled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” was the precursor to the subsequent order intended to keep men out of women’s sports.

Following the orders, the PHRC responded to my requests for comment, doubling down on their position.

“Regardless of what happens federally, protections on the basis of sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics exist in Pennsylvania. In 2023, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission released new regulations more clearly explaining the definition of sex,” said spokesperson Amanda Brothman.

Many, if not all school districts in Pennsylvania, are struggling with which regulations or executive orders they are required to follow. I requested comment from the majority of districts in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and only a handful responded.

Three of the four districts that responded referenced the PHRC regulations.

“I’m sure changes are on the horizon, but any policy updates will need to be made by the Board, as it is their role to establish policies,” said Superintendent Rob Rizzo from Spring-Ford Area School District located in Montgomery County. “We’re working with our solicitor to update policies in line with the 2020 regulations, not the 2024 updates. However, PHRA remains a key factor in legal discussions in Pennsylvania.”

Two Bucks County districts, Central Bucks and Centennial, also cited the PHRC regulations and the difficulty of navigating the ever-changing landscape.

“I hope you can appreciate that this is a developing legal landscape, and we are carefully considering all aspects regarding any next steps based on legal counsel advice and any school board directives,” said Centennial Superintendent Dana Bedden.

The Perkiomen Valley School Board Director noted the discrepancy in urgency regarding Biden’s proposed rule changes and the current president’s actual executive orders.

“For years, school boards were told to prepare for anticipated Title IX changes from the Biden administration — changes that, for the most part, never fully materialized,” said Saylor. “Now, with a lawful executive order from President Trump, organizations are beginning to respond, albeit slowly, and in some cases, only under pressure. This issue has become highly politicized, and it’s time for the focus to shift back to fairness, consistency, and the best interests of students.”

Penn-Delco School District in Delaware County is awaiting guidance from a statewide organization before making any policy changes.

“The Pennsylvania School Boards Association will likely update their model policies to reflect any new legislation or executive orders,” said Allison Gangl, district Communications Coordinator. “When that occurs, the district will review the recommended policy changes, if any, and consult with our school district solicitor. This is part of our regular policy development and update process, ensuring that all policies align with current regulations and applicable laws.”

Based on the responses, albeit limited, from local school districts, it appears many are not currently making changes to policies impacting sports or bathroom spaces. As Saylor noted, districts seemed to be in a much bigger hurry to adopt the proposed changes announced by Biden than the actual orders issued by Trump. This was also true for the federal mandates during Covid regarding school closures and masking. Most districts cited the risk of federal funding as a reason to comply with the masking requirements.

Interestingly, districts do not seem to be overly concerned about losing federal funding over the current executive orders. Perhaps they are more concerned about losing state funding if they fail to follow the PHRC regulations? Or maybe, the PHRC position aligns more closely with the philosophical beliefs of the district administration?

This showdown is likely headed to court to determine whether the PHRC regulations are lawful — I contend they violate the state and federal constitution. 

Lawmakers in Harrisburg should be examining this issue further. While several female senators introduced a bill earlier this month, entitled “Save Women’s Sports Act,” there is no proposed legislation prohibiting the definition of sex to include “gender identity.” Additionally, the legislature should be investigating whether the PHRC regulations are lawful.

Almost 80 percent of Americans believe men should not compete in women’s sports, according to a survey conducted by the New York Times. This is an issue that crosses party lines and the divided Pennsylvania legislature should understand this and work in bipartisan fashion to enact legislation immediately. Governor Shapiro should be calling for this bill to get passed quickly so he can sign it into law.

Alas, this will not likely happen due to Shapiro’s progressive stance on these issues, but I hope to be proven wrong. 

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@broadandliberty.com.