IN a Sept. 17 memo addressed to the Public School System, Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence Camacho said PSS will comply with Presidential Executive Orders 14168 and 14201. Under this directive, transgender students in the CNMI must compete in divisions consistent with the sex they were assigned at birth.
EO 14168, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” states that federal funds will be withheld if PSS is deemed to promote “gender ideology” within the school system.
“This policy requires that agencies, and by extension recipients of federal funding, use the term ‘sex’ (male or female) rather than ‘gender identity’ in policies, programs, and documents,” Camacho wrote.
He added that EO 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” directs the federal government to rescind funding from educational programs that “deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities by allowing male participation in women’s sports.”
Section 3(ii) of EO 14201 instructs the Secretary of Education to “take all appropriate action to affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities and all-female locker rooms…including enforcement actions… [and] bring regulations and policy guidance into line with Congress’ existing demand for ‘equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes’ by clearly specifying and clarifying that women’s sports are reserved for women.”
Camacho also said he is drafting a “formal policy” for consideration by the Board of Education. Variety reached out to Camacho via email for details on this policy but had not received a reply as of press time.
Variety also sought comment from Nick Gross, athletic program director for PSS Student Support and Services, regarding transgender student participation in sports. He declined to comment.
The Sept. 17 memo was issued three days before a PSS cross-country race in Marpi, the third race of the season. Since the start of the season, at least one transgender student has competed.
A student — a transgender girl — had previously raced in the girls’ division but was required to compete in the boys’ division in Marpi. Variety did not obtain official race times before press deadline.
