The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors responded to lawmakers in Illinois on April 15, 2025, after receiving a letter from the Republican caucuses of both houses seeking clarity on the President’s Executive Order regarding transgender participation in high school sports in Illinois. There is a growing narrative seeking to politicize the IHSA’s response, however, as it plainly explains in the copy of the letter provide below, the IHSA is seeking clarity on conflicting state and federal law so that we can remain in compliance: “Assuming for purposes of this discussion that the (President’s) executive order in question represents an authorized exercise of presidential authority that accurately reflects federal law, the inquiry is not ended. The Illinois Attorney General and, most recently, the Illinois Department of Human Rights have asserted to the IHSA that the Illinois Human Rights Act requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate in events and programs aligning with the gender with which they identify. As a result of the foregoing, compliance with the Executive Order could place the IHSA out of compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act and vice versa.”
IHSA Responds To Illinois Lawmakers Regarding Transgender Laws
