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  • Transgender athlete wins, shares state honors, creating questions about inclusion 

    Transgender athlete wins, shares state honors, creating questions about inclusion 


    Flanked by fourth-place winner Ellie McCuskey-Hay, left, and first-place winner Loren Webster, right, second-place winners AB Hernandez, center right, and Brooke White share the podium during a medal ceremony for the long jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis.

    Credit: AP Photo / Jae C. Hong

    Top Takeaways
    • Transgender athlete AB Hernandez was unflustered amid controversy and protest over her participation in girls’ sports.
    • Under revised rules for the championship, she shared two first-place and a second-place medals with cisgender competitors.
    • President Trump threatened to defund California if she participated.

    A lone boo. A jeering yell of “That’s a boy.” Rhythmic clapping cheering on her and others. A scream of “let’s go” from the crowd. A nation watching. 

    Unrattled by the controversy around her participation in girls’ track and field events, AB Hernandez, an openly transgender student-athlete, achieved two first-place victories and a second-place win in the state championship on Saturday. She shared the podium and recognition with cisgender females as a result of new rules hurriedly adopted last week.

    Sparked by threats from the federal government, just days ahead of this past weekend’s Track and Field State Championship, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) changed its rules regarding the number of girls who could qualify for and would win in events with a transgender athlete.

    The state faced backlash over Hernandez’s participation with President Donald Trump threatening to cut federal funding to California and demanding that the state bar her inclusion. In response, California officials tweaked the rules to expand the number of cisgender girls who could qualify if a trans athlete was participating. Under the changed rules, a cisgender girl displaced by a transgender competitor was awarded whichever medal she would have claimed had the transgender athlete not been competing.

    Local leaders in the conservative-leaning Clovis, which hosted the championship, called it unfair to include a transgender female in sports with cisgender females, The Fresno Bee reported.

    Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High in Southern California, was unflappable in the Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School, even when insulted or met with silence in the packed venue. 

    She has “consistently displayed more dignity, maturity, and grace than the many adults, from the president on down, who chose to attack and bully her to score political points,” said Tony Hoang, executive director of Equality California, the state’s LGBTQ+ civil rights organization. “We could not be prouder of the way this brave student-athlete conducted herself on and off the track.” 

    Hernandez qualified as the top competitor in the long jump and triple jump Friday, outperforming others by 6.25 inches and 9.75 inches, respectively, and in high jump, scoring the same as five other athletes. 

    During the championship round Saturday, she was outperformed in the long jump and continued to tie with other athletes in the high jump. 

    Even though she is not ranked as a top athlete nationally, she held on to California’s top marks in the triple jump. 

    This past weekend’s championship revealed conflicting stances on the issue of transgender females competing in women’s sports that point to unresolved questions about what should be done to ensure fairness and inclusion. 

    Friday’s qualifier featured a “Free Speech Area” outside of the stadium that remained empty most of the day. No signs were allowed in the event, but a plane flew a “No boys in girls’ sports!” banner.

    Signs reminded attendants of the importance of sportsmanship at the State Track and Field Championships at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Buchanan High School in Clovis on Friday, May 30, 2025.
    Lasherica Thornton/ EdSource

    Also outside the event, along the roads or in other areas, small groups protested Friday and Saturday — much smaller crowds than the dozens who questioned Hernandez’s participation at the southern region qualifier events over the last couple of weeks. 

    Donning a “Make America Great Again” hat and American flag-themed attire, Mimi Israelah, a self-proclaimed activist from Long Beach, traveled more than four hours to witness Hernandez, whom she referred to as “the trans,” compete in the girls’ field events. 

    “I don’t know why they’re allowing that because women’s sports is supposed to be for women,” Israelah said, often referring to Hernandez as “he.” She said transgender athletes should have their own division if they wish to compete. 

    Including transgender athletes 

    So far, research on the fairness of transgender athletes, published by the Journal of the Endocrine Society, finds that testosterone is the “only established” advantage men have over women. 

    More specifically, males who have gone through puberty reportedly have 15 times the amount of circulating testosterone than females who’ve gone through puberty, equaling at least a 10% performance advantage in running and swimming and a 20% advantage in jumping events, according to a 2018 Endocrine Review. 

    “He might be transitioned, but he is still a male,” Israelah said. “It’s not fair for the women, and it is destroying women’s sports.”

    Until late 2021, the Olympics required transgender women to reduce their testosterone levels to below a certain threshold to compete. Under the former medical requirement, transgender women had to undergo gender-affirming care, such as testosterone-reducing medication. The Olympics have since eliminated the requirement related to testosterone levels, leading to polarizing debates even in professional sports.

    California’s high school athletics guidelines, outlined by CIF, allow athletes to participate in sports aligned with their gender identity, even if it’s different from their assigned sex at birth, including transgender athletes. 

    ‘Her own competition’ 

    Trump has criticized Hernandez for being “less than average competitor” as a male but “practically unbeatable” as a female. 

    “Her numbers are not unbeatable,” said Sabrina Gomez, whose daughter Jazmaine Stewart, a Redwood High junior from Visalia, competed against Hernandez in long and triple jumps. 

    Stewart finished seventh in Friday’s qualifier for the long and triple jump. She earned a fifth-place spot in the long jump and a sixth-place position in the triple jump for the championship, rankings that are one spot higher since Hernandez shared the podium for her wins. 

    “For my daughter, doing track has always been an individual sport for her, so she’s her own competition,” Gomez said. Even so, with the state championship as a goal, they’d long been aware of and prepared to face off against Hernandez’s numbers. 

    Gomez said she couldn’t characterize Hernandez’s participation as unfair after researching her marks, which fall within the range of other female athletes. 

    In fact, Gomez said, if not for Trump, there wouldn’t have been contention about Hernandez’s participation, which is aligned with CIF’s decade-plus-old policy. 

    According to its materials on gender diversity, CIF is one of 16 state sports associations with gender-inclusive policies that facilitate the participation of transgender, nonbinary and other gender-diverse students in school athletics. 

    Since February 2013, the CIF has had philosophy and eligibility rules for participation based on gender identity. 

    Trump has threatened other states with cuts in federal funding if they continue to allow transgender athletes in youth and women’s sports. Trump began gutting federal education dollars from Maine, and the matter ended up in court. 

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom in March agreed that it was “deeply unfair” for people born as biological men to compete in women’s sports, breaking from most Democratic leaders. 

    CIF policy consistent with state law

    The California Interscholastic Federation’s addition of gender identity participation and eligibility rules in 2013 followed legislation that allows students to participate on sports teams based on their gender identity. The CIF guidelines go further to state that athletes will participate in programs consistent with their gender identity or the gender they most consistently express.

    The statewide policy for high schoolers does not have a legal or medical requirement, such as a documented name change or gender-confirming care, for transgender students to compete. Student participation is based solely on their gender identity or expression.  

    A transgender student-athlete, according to CIF documents, has a protected right to privacy if they choose not to disclose their gender identity. 

    There have been instances of teams forfeiting games due to the belief that their opponent had a transgender player.

    But Hernandez is not the first openly transgender athlete to compete in California, and this isn’t her first time competing. 

    Hernandez has reportedly participated on the track team for three years and told Capital & Main that this is the first year her presence has garnered controversy.

    In early May, a few Christian high schools — JSerra Catholic High School, Orange Lutheran High School and Crean Lutheran High School — penned a letter, expressing “disappointment in CIF’s failure to respect and protect our female athletes and our strong opposition to CIF’s Gender Identity Policy.”

    Earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” to ensure women and girls can compete in safe and fair sports; much like his other orders, he threatened federal funding for noncompliance. In response, CIF at the time said it would enforce its existing policy consistent with state legislation. 

    U.S. Justice department opens title Ix investigation of California

    Title IX is a 1972 landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education, applying to colleges and schools that receive federal funding. 

    It protects students from being denied access to educational and athletic opportunities. 

    The federal investigation will investigate whether California is violating Title IX by allowing transgender athletic participation in sports, specifically Hernandez competing in track and field.

    This week, as the U.S. Justice Department launched a national civil rights investigation into the policy, the CIF implemented a “pilot entry process” to allow cisgender female athletes who failed to qualify to compete in the championships in Clovis — a “reasonable, respectful way to navigate this complex issue without compromising competitive fairness,” Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom, told The Sacramento Bee. 

    Another temporary rule change said any cisgender girl who was displaced by a transgender competitor would be awarded whichever medal she would have claimed had the transgender athlete not been competing.

    Based on Friday’s results and Hernandez’s participation, 13 student athletes qualified in the girls’ long, triple and high jump categories rather than the traditional 12 for Saturday’s championship.

    Among the athletes who competed, there were conflicting views about the fairness of the CIF policy and rule change. 

    For example, southern regional second-place long jump finisher Katie McGuinness, who placed sixth Friday behind Hernandez and four others, spoke out leading up to this past weekend’s championship. 

    In an exclusive with Fox News, McGuiness, a La Cañada High senior, said she felt discouraged facing the trans athlete due to apparent “genetic” disadvantages. 

    Meanwhile, other athletes and teams, including those in Clovis Unified which hosted the championship, declined EdSource interviews so that athletes could focus on their performance and not be distracted. 

    At Saturday’s championship, Long Beach’s Wilson High senior Loren Webster clutched the long jump title over Hernandez. Hernandez shared the second-place honor with River City High School senior Brooke White, reflecting CIF’s rule change. McGuinness finished third instead of fourth due to the second-place title being shared. 

    For the first-place triple jump medal, though Hernandez’s score beat her competitors, she shared the podium with St. Mary College High junior Kira Gant Hatcher. 

    In the high jump, there was a three-way tie as Hernandez, Monta Vista High junior Lelani Laruelle, and Long Beach Polytechnic High senior Jillene Wetteland hit the same marks. 

    Other states are also reckoning with transgender athletic participation – and victory. 

    In Washington, a transgender athlete defied their critics after being booed on the podium. This was the second year that Veronica Garcia of East Valley of Spokane was reportedly heckled by fans. In Oregon, track and field athletes who outperformed a transgender athlete refused to take the podium next to the trans athlete.

    Gomez, the parent of the Redwood High student athlete, said that how community members, coaches, parents, and others respond or react will set an example for the students looking up to them. 

    “Learning how to respond,” she said, “to what the world throws at you makes a difference to the attitude that you’ll have going into a situation.”





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  • California tribal college looks to become independent, but financial questions loom

    California tribal college looks to become independent, but financial questions loom


    A California Indian Nations College flag inside the college’s classroom at College of the Desert’s Palm Springs campus.

    Michael Burke/EdSource

    After operating for the last six years as an affiliate of a nearby community college, California Indian Nations College (CINC) appears likely to become the state’s only standalone, fully accredited tribal college. It’s something education experts say would be a boon for Native American students who now start and complete college at lower rates than other ethnic groups.

    But first, money has to be found to ensure the college can survive, let alone expand and build its own campus.

    A two-year and mostly online institution based in the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, the college achieved a big step forward toward its goals recently. It got preliminary approval for accreditation, allowing it to independently offer classes and transferable credits and distribute financial aid. The college expects to have full accreditation within the next year. 

    The college opened its doors in fall 2018 as an extension of UC Riverside for one semester. Since 2019, its degrees have been awarded via a partnership with College of the Desert. Students dually enroll at both campuses, though starting next semester students will be able to enroll solely at CINC and still get an accredited degree.

    College of the Desert also provides classroom space for the tribal college at its temporary Palm Springs campus, made up of a set of trailers. Inside the tribal college’s classroom trailer, visitors can find Native crafts such as dream catchers, fliers with information about transferring to four-year colleges and even a makeshift basic needs center — a filing cabinet with dry food. 

    College of the Desert’s temporary Palm Springs campus, where California Indian Nations College has a classroom.
    Michael Burke/EdSource

    CINC enrolls about 150 students and is planning for many more, but it faces an uncertain future even if it achieves full accreditation. It is running low on money and is asking the state for a $60 million infusion in this year’s budget: $50 million to build its own campus and another $10 million in annual funding for operational costs. 

    Officials say the money is necessary for the college to grow long term and offer a culturally relevant education to Native students who often distrust the U.S. education system. That distrust dates back to the 19th century, when the government began to forcibly send Native children to boarding schools intended to assimilate them, a practice that didn’t end until the late 1960s. 

    “There’s so many of us here who feel a void and think, ‘Who are we?’ So having an institution that’s empowering and teaching us the truth about who we are is really important,” said Mayra Grajeda Nelson, who graduated last year from CINC with an associate degree in sociology and another in social and behavioral sciences. Originally from Banning, Grajeda Nelson now works as a health educator for the Indian Health Council in northern San Diego County.

    The college is not a typical community college governed by the state’s board of governors; instead, even with state funding, it would remain chartered by the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, a federally recognized tribe in Southern California.

    It would be the only accredited tribal college in the state but not the first. D-Q University operated in Davis from the early 1970s until closing in 2005 after losing accreditation and eligibility for $1 million in federal funding. Across the country, there are more than 30 accredited tribal colleges and universities, spread out across the Southwest, Midwest and other regions. The first tribally controlled college, Diné College in Arizona, was established in 1968 and still operates.

    California has the largest Native population of any state, with a concentration of tribes in the desert regions of Riverside County. Yet, American Indian or Alaska Native individuals have the lowest college-going rate of any racial or ethnic group in the state, according to a report published in December by the California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center at Cal State San Marcos. 

    “But if you look at American Indian students who go to tribal colleges or universities, they’re four times more likely to earn their bachelor’s degree,” said Shawn Ragan, CINC’s chief operations officer. 

    In a recent report following a campus visit, the accrediting commission praised the tribal college for providing “culturally sensitive, academically rigorous” courses and degrees that incorporate Native American culture and for “fostering an environment where both Indigenous and non-Native students can thrive.” The report found that CINC has “solid financial planning in place for the short-range” and noted that the college is still figuring out its long-term funding planning. Otherwise, the commission found only minor problems that college leaders say will be easy to address, such as requiring the college’s board of trustees to undergo a self-evaluation. 

    California lawmakers, though, have not committed to providing funding this year for CINC, and no funding was included in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s January budget proposal. 

    Assemblymember David Alvarez, chair of the state Assembly’s budget subcommittee on education, said in an interview that he’s supportive of the tribal college and that there is “room for conversation” about funding. But he acknowledged that the timing is not ideal: California’s public universities are facing budget cuts, and it could be difficult to find money for new spending. 

    To date, the state has given CINC $5 million — a one-time funding allocation in 2022 to help the college apply for accreditation.

    Now that the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges has awarded the college candidacy status, CINC can also apply for federal funding, but that too is an uncertainty under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump recently rescinded a White House initiative aimed at strengthening tribal colleges. His proposed federal funding freeze, currently blocked by the courts, would also prevent the colleges from getting federal grants and contracts. The Trump administration’s hostility to any programs promoting racial diversity could also have a chilling effect and make it harder for those colleges to secure funding. 

    CINC previously received $9 million in seed money from the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. Most of that has been spent, and the college is now surviving off its reserves, which should last for at least the next year. 

    Open to both Native and non-Native students, the college mostly uses part-time faculty and offers associate degrees in sociology and liberal arts. Students in the liberal arts program can pick one of three concentrations: arts and humanities, business and technology or social and behavioral sciences.

    Students at California Indian Nations College’s 2024 graduation ceremony
    Courtesy of California Indian Nations College

    In addition to courses specific to their major, students are required to take general education classes as well as six units for a Native American breadth requirement. For that requirement, they choose between courses such as Native American literature, Native performing arts and Native languages. 

    Most classes are online, but the college often holds in-person events, including cultural workshops like basket weaving. There are also talking circles, an Indigenous practice similar to group therapy. Many of the events are led by Kim Marcus, the college’s Elder in Residence and an enrolled Tribal Elder with the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians.

    Grajeda Nelson, the recent graduate, enrolled at CINC in 2023, more than a decade after first enrolling in college at Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. She also attended Mount San Jacinto College, but didn’t receive a degree from either institution. 

    With some credits carrying over from her previous stops, she was able to finish two associate degrees within one year at CINC. During that time, she found the talking circles especially helpful to share her past challenges and get support from people with similar experiences.

    “That’s how the Native community is. There’s that closeness and support because we’re all kind of dealing with very similar challenges, especially with intergenerational trauma, substance usage, depression, poverty,” she said. “So having that space gives us time to process those emotions so we don’t have to walk away and feel that grief.” 

    Kristina Glass, whose family is part of the Cherokee Nation, did make it to and through a non-tribal college, having graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. 

    In debt and laid off from her job as a graphic designer, Glass last year decided to return to college. She’s pursuing an associate degree in Spanish language from College of the Desert and has been taking general education classes at CINC, including Native American literature. 

    As a student at Cal State Long Beach, Glass said she felt isolated because she didn’t meet any other Native students. Her experience at CINC has been much better. Just hearing Native American blessings, performed before events on campus, regularly brings her to tears. “It’s special, because you feel that connection to this land and these people,” she said. 

    Faculty try to incorporate elements of Native culture into the curriculum, even in courses that aren’t part of the Native breadth requirement. Roseanne Rosenthal, an anthropology professor, instructs students to learn about the history of their tribes from elders in their communities.

    “Having students going back and bringing that knowledge into the classroom, I think is great,” said Rosenthal, the college’s only full-time faculty member.  

    If the college can secure more funding, officials plan to add additional full-time faculty and new associate degrees including in business, engineering and food sovereignty.

    At the top of their wish list, though, is their own campus, which would take a few years to build. In the meantime, the college will continue to use the College of the Desert facility and UC Riverside’s Palm Desert campus, where CINC’s administration is housed. 

    Ragan said the college is still looking at potential sites for a permanent campus but expects to stay in Riverside County. He said having a campus would “enable students to come together and build community” by having more in-person events and classes and would allow the college to offer more vocational training.

    He added that the college is looking into additional funding possibilities, such as from other tribes, but said the state “is the best option right now.” 

    “What we’re asking for, it’s not a large amount. So ideally we’ll have some wiggle room and can get us added to the budget,” he said. “California has a tremendous need for tribal colleges. What we’re doing is historic and is going to change lives.”





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