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Battle over trans students in girl’s sports pulls on purse strings

April 26, 2025

Celeste Duyst speaking at Lucia Mar Unified School District Board meeting

By KAREN VELIE

The battle over allowing trans students to compete in girls sports has parents in San Luis Obispo County choosing sides, threatening financial losses and reaching out to federal prosecutors.

Federal laws require schools receiving federal funding to provide girls an equal opportunity to compete in sports. However, laws in California allow boys and girls to compete in sports and use locker rooms of the gender they identify with, regardless of their biological gender.

Earlier this month, the Trump Administration filed a suit against Maine for not complying with an executive order banning transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. Trump has also threatened to cut off crucial federal funding.

And now it appears the Department of Justice is also focusing on San Luis Obispo County – specifically the Lucia Mar Unified School District, according to an email shared with CalCoastNews. It is suspected the district will receive a letter in the next few weeks asking it to comply with federal laws or risk losing federal funds.

The federal government provided about $8 billion, or about 6% of total funding in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, to kindergarten through twelve grade schools in the state, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.

During a Lucia Mar board meeting on April 15, Arroyo Grande High School track and field athlete Celeste Duyst cried as she described a trans athlete in the girl’s locker room watching her and other biological females change into their track suits, noting the trans athlete does not change in the locker room.

Duyst’s public comment made national news after Colleen Martin, Lucia Mar’s board president, told Duyst, “Okay, please wrap it up.”

Another student, Bibi Shah, blamed adults in the community for alleging “trans people attending our school and participating in school activities is causing psychological trauma.” Shah said she supports trans athletes showing school spirit and participating in sports.

State law currently allows students to participate in sports based on the gender in which they identify. SLO County Superintendent of Schools James Brescia is concerned that a failure to comply with California law could result in a loss of state funding.

In a separate attempt to impact school funding, a group of parents of elementary through high school school students across SLO County plan to keep their children home for one day later this month to protest transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports and using female bathrooms.

California Parents for Change wants local schools to ban biological males from girl’s bathrooms and sports and to prohibit menstrual product machines in boy’s bathrooms.

The group is giving school districts in SLO County until April 27 to “show compliance.” If their demands are not met, parents in the group plan to keep their children home on April 28 and then one day each month until local school districts “adhere to Federal Law, respecting Title IX and executive orders that safeguard the rights of all our children, sons and daughters alike.”

The protest is designed to cause financial damage at a time many school districts are working through tough financial times. Funding for school districts is based on daily attendance.

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It’s amazing how much fear mongering can be squeezed out of a single trans-athlete.


-11

Still going to use the bathroom with the shortest line.


2

Unfortunately, it isn’t just the weirdness of “a guy dressed as a girl in the locker room checking out the girls,” issue. It’s the fact that a male body is stronger and faster than a female body. “She” was grown on testosterone! Everyone knows this! I am not personally against people who are Trans. Who am I to judge what someone is deciding for themselves? I have friends whom I care about that have contended with this issue. This controversy is NOT about someone who has made that decision. NO One against Trans in girls sports or the locker room is against “Trans People”.


IT’s about Testosterone building stronger muscle, bone structure..etc. That is Not a fair equivalent to females! There is a HUGE difference! We hear the stories of lower scoring male athletes suddenly winning gold when “becoming a woman”. This is incredibly unfair to those born female, lacking that same testosterone advantage. You can change your appearance all you want, but it is unfair to let a boy develop naturally, then decide to be a “girl” and call him a female athlete. Even my Trans friends agree!! Really though, I am baffled over the lack of concern and common sense for the ones born Girls without Testosterone. Who is deciding it is OK for these Female Athletes to have to compete with Male competitors? IF they grew up with Testosterone, they are Male! Why not just say NO just Male or just Female sports? IT make just as much sense! None.


56

People once boycotted ending whites only bathrooms and ramps for handicapped folks.


-92

I always thought Republicans supported state’s rights. But they seem to be two-faced on the concept. When it comes to abortion, it’s totally up to the state, but on this issue, it seems the federal government wants its way.


It’s interesting that polling on these issues would suggest that the Trump administration should stay out of both arguments. On one hand, Americans are against transgender sports participation for biological males by about 60%. On the other hand, that same margin supports abortion in this country.


I say, let the states decide. If California wants to deny transgender participation in sports (even though such athletes represent a tiny fraction—less than .05% of athletes) then they should elect representative who support that view. It has been pretty easy in several southern states for representatives to vote for bans on abortion even though the majority of their constituents are against such a ban. Seems schizophrenic, like most of American politics.


On this particular athlete, I see this as a failure of the Arroyo Grande coaching staff that this transgender girl was able to linger in a locker room and stare at girls while they dress. Coaches in charge should have been aware of anything untoward and my heart goes out to that young lady. However, this seems like an extremely isolated incident and I’m sure if she had brought it to the attention of her coaches, something would have been done.


-90

She had brought to the attention of two of her coaches and neither could nor would do anything, feeling dismissed and encouraged by Many other female athletes she Boldly made the choice to bring to the board, which again CM dismissed her. This is by no means an “isolated issue”.

Transgender athletes can fairly compete against other athletes that are biologically same sex. I’m confident Bruce Jenner could whoop me wearing high heels whether on a track or in a street fight.

Our job as parents is to do the best we can to allow our kids to be kids, it’s terrible for our youth to have to worry about such rules/laws put in place that can have consequences that effect their core, let alone other students male/female use these areas to “hook up”. This has opened the door for far more than most are aware nor could believe. It’s a topic of discussion that triggers many emotional responses, I just hope we could come together rationally to protect our youth and allow our kids to feel safe and just be kids.


24

Sorry that you’re being torpedoed by all the Trump trolls who hide out here, but you’re 100% correct.


-40

Anybody that doesn’t believe in child mutilation, sterilization, and indulging mental illness is trump troll? Lmao


6

Schools take federal money. That makes it a federal case.


As Trump pointed quite clearly, if you want to discriminate against biological females, you are welcome to do so without federal finances.


40

Lucia Mar and most California schools are on the wrong side of this issue. They will lose, and common sense will ultimately prevail. Unfortunately, many girls and young women will be forced to suffer before this happens.


142

If you were born a guy-stay out of the womens locker room.

If you were born a girl-stay out of the mens.

Case closed.


85

Thank you for the objective factual article. Good reporting is what CCN does… the politics are for the rest of us to argue over


115

No boys in the girls locker rooms. Pretty common sense?


77
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