In February 2025, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) adjusted its policies regarding transgender athletes in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201. The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” aims to prevent transgender women and girls from participating on female sports teams at federally funded educational institutions.
“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 Assistant Executive Director Lyndsay Barna said.
On February 9, 2025, the PIAA Board of Directors voted to remove the PIAA’s “Transgender Policy” from the organization’s policy and procedures manual. The “Mixed Gender Participation” section was also amended, removing all mentions of gender, instead only referencing the athlete’s biological sex, and leaving the case in which a student’s sex is questioned up to the school to determine.
According to athletic director Ms. Lynelle Mosley, how Haven will handle issues around this policy is up to the school’s administration, potentially with legal advice.
“It goes back to the school and we are to consult with our solicitor on how the school is going to handle the gender or the identity piece of it,” Mosley said. “That’s kind of how PIAA has left it at this point. It’s kind of back into the school’s hands, and the school can always consult with their solicitor. So we would consult with the solicitor, with the superintendent, and then go forward that way with how we would proceed.”
Although Strath Haven has not yet had to confront this adjustment in the school setting, it intends to comply with the PIAA’s requirements.
“If the PIAA wants it one way, then we kind of have to abide by that way so that our teams are still eligible to play in a postseason,” Mosley said.
If there was a circumstance that required discussion regarding an athlete’s gender identity, Mosley explains that Haven would be open to discussion. Haven’s goal is to allow for all athletes to be able to participate in their sport.
“We’re always open to talking to parents and definitely finding the best way to make sure that all our athletes can participate,” Mosley said. “We want to always stay in line with the rules of the PIAA, while also trying to make sure that all student athletes are able to participate.”
While Strath Haven aims to ensure student athletes can participate in their sport, it is important to note that these regulations are coming from above the athletic department and the district administration. They are coming from presidential orders.
“I don’t know that anybody on our level has a lot of say on it because we kind of are just following whatever policy comes down,” Mosley said. “I’m sure that if there were student athletes that went to Capitol Hill and wanted to have their say that that’s a way that students always can advocate for themselves. But unfortunately, at this level, we kind of just follow the rules. All of our PIAA sports—in order to participate, have to follow their rules.”
There remains uncertainty surrounding what true changes have been made to PIAA’s policies.
“The PIAA’s recent policy chances are both unnecessary and unlawful,” Elizabeth Lester-Abdalla, who is a Staff Attorney at the Women’s Law Project and authored an open letter to PIAA’s Executive Director, stated in a press release. “These actions evoke confusion and fear. I want to assure transgender and gender-expansive students, their families, and the people who love them that they are still legally protected under state and federal law.”
Little discussion regarding this topic has been had in the Central League Leadership Council, according to Mosley, considering that these policies are coming from executive orders.
“We’re all kind of in the same boat because we’re all under the PIAA,” Mosley said. “I think even the PIAA is trying to understand exactly what the order is going to be and what it means. So I think we’re all kind of in that boat right now—just trying to figure out even what the policy is.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misattributed a quote to the open letter to the PIAA Executive Director and included a typo. This story has since been updated to correct the typo and include the appropriate attribution.
