The Tahoe-Truckee school district, which sits on the border of California and Nevada, is moving forward with transitioning its high school athletics programs from Nevada’s governing body to California’s authority.

At the center of this state-mandated move is the difference in gender policies between the two states.

“We are stuck between two different authorities,” said Kerstin Kramer, superintendent of the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District (TTUSD), during a Dec. 17 school board meeting. “California state law and education code allow sports eligibility for students based on gender expression, and [Nevada] limits eligibility to biological sex.”

For more than 40 years, student athletes in TTUSD have played and competed under the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) despite being located in California. This was primarily due to its location as a mountain community, the proximity to Reno-area teams, and the safer travel logistics of avoiding crossing California’s mountains during winter to compete with valley or coastal schools.

The policy conflict arose when, in April, the NIAA changed its gender eligibility policies to comply with federal law by requiring student athletes to compete on either male or female teams based on their sex at birth.

However, California state law allows athletes to compete based on their preferred gender identities, which means males are allowed to compete on female teams.

This policy difference led the California Department of Education to legally mandate TTUSD to switch to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to comply with state law.

At the school board meeting, members revealed their proposed plan. The school district submitted its corrective action plan to the California Department of Education on Dec. 12.

On Jan. 7, 2026, the school district plans to formally apply to join the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.

Then, between January and April 2026, the goal will be to secure a written agreement with NIAA to allow TTUSD to continue participating in full competitions and playoffs with the Nevada governing body until 2028.

The school board will work to secure final approval to join the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section by April 22, 2026, and achieve legal CIF membership in July 2026.

The school district aims to fully integrate into the CIF starting in the 2028–2029 school year.

NIAA Executive Director Timothy Jackson told The Epoch Times in an email that the NIAA has been notified of this transition plan and that it “remains dedicated to supporting all member schools and student-athletes and will continue to collaborate with TTUSD throughout this process.”

The Epoch Times also reached out to the CIF and the California Department of Education for comment but did not hear back by publication time.

According to the transition plan, TTUSD cannot immediately participate in CIF leagues due to two factors: The CIF application period has expired, and the 2026 sports schedules for both California and Nevada schools are already finalized.

However, TTUSD’s transition plans were not sudden; the community had been discussing a potential switch for months. On May 2, the school board sent a letter to parents regarding a decision to transition the high school interscholastic athletics program from Nevada to California this year.

After two board meetings and public comments that same month, school board members eventually voted to delay the transition to at least the 2026–2027 school year.

Throughout June, the public continued to discuss the matter with school board staff, and Kramer ultimately decided to remain in the NIAA.

In a newsletter to parents, she cited community engagement and stated that “a significant barrier to remaining in NIAA was removed when Tahoe Forest Hospital reversed its previous guidance and allowed its medical providers to complete the updated (6-5-2025) NIAA Preparticipation Physical Examination (PPE) form for athletes.”

However, plans again changed in December when the school district received the legal mandate from the California Department of Education.

If the school district does not comply with the complaint, it could face court sanctions, court interventions, or financial penalties, according to Matt Juhl-Darlington, legal counsel for TTUSD.

“We hope that what we can do is all work together through this process in harmony,” Juhl-Darlington said at the recent board meeting. “Also, that if there are potential actions that come, that we can be consulted with and work together as a team, through the community.”

Moving forward, the school district plans to launch a Community Athletic Committee, which aims to bring together students, parents, staff, and community members to figure out solutions for travel logistics across the mountains and changes to sports schedules.

“We still have the concerns about safe travel in the winter. We still have the switch of sports seasons for soccer and tennis,” Kramer said.

Public comments throughout the night primarily raised concerns about winter travel safety due to the community’s geographical location, and raised criticism of the state’s citing of gender policies as the reason for mandating the switch.

Board members thanked the public for sharing their ideas on how to move forward with the change and encouraged people to join the Community Athletic Committee to work together with school district staff to develop solutions that best fit the community.