The Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Board of Education last night agreed to pause its earlier decision to move to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) for school sports after hearing profound concerns from parents, students, and coaches.

The district, with less than 24 hours left before a final decision was due, opted to delay implementation of the change to give itself more time to better study the impacts. The decision does not come without possible legal risks.

“We haven’t figured it all out, we haven’t created any equity in this because we’ve talked about challenges with individuals not being able to do multisports [and] specific sports being left out of the conversation because of logistics, the cost,” said TTUSD board member Denyelle Nishimori. “There’s so many things that have been thrown at our community over this discussion, and I think a 1-year delay gives us time to have additional community conversation. I’m hoping that we can work on the not-leaving-people-behind part of the conversation. I think that’s a huge component of this that we haven’t really resolved.”

TTUSD announced on May 2 that it was moving to the CIF after the NIAA changed its bylaws in early April restricting student-athletes to play on the team that matches their biological sex at birth. This conflicts with California state law, which recognizes gender identity and gender expression as part of anti-discrimination laws. However, the change would greatly impact TTUSD sports by requiring teams to travel over Donner Summit in winter, and moving soccer to winter and tennis to spring.

At its May 7 meeting, the school board directed staff to explore waiver options with the state of California. The NIAA has already stated that waivers for the four California school districts in the same predicament, including Lake Tahoe Unified School District in South Lake Tahoe, regarding the new pre-participation physical form would not be considered. Since the NIAA changed its bylaws, the form now requires medical providers to identify a student’s birth sex and whether they are eligible for girls or boys sports.

Originally, TTUSD Superintendent Kerstin Kramer reported that Tahoe Forest Hospital told her that medical staff would not be allowed to sign the new form due to HIPAA privacy concerns. However, Kramer said the hospital may have come up with a solution.

“Tahoe Forest Hospital is continuing to work with their legal counsel, and they have come up with an explanation that they feel they can attach to the form, then the medical staff will sign the form,” she said. “Tahoe Forest Hospital is going to be in conversation with NIAA to see if this will work and meet the eligibility needs that NIAA has set forth.”

According to Kramer, the district submitted a waiver inquiry to the California Department of Education regarding staying in the NIAA, but has not yet heard back. She said she was able to share with Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction David Schapira that the immediate implementation of moving to CIF is challenging for the school district.

“They listened and they took note of the initial inquiry and they’re having conversations about that,” Kramer said.

Legal Risks

There are three legal risks of staying in the NIAA and not complying with California law, which protects transgender student-athletes and privacy rights. One is that the California attorney general could pursue an investigation into TTUSD. According to Kramer, this can take up to 5 years and could come with a financial cost. The state could also set corrective action, which, at an extreme, could include suspending TTUSD’s athletic program. A second risk is that the district’s insurance provider could cancel its liability coverage since the district would be in violation of California law. Lastly, the school district could face lawsuits from students or parents harmed by the decision to remain in the NIAA for next school year.

Board member Patrick Mooney acknowledged the difficult bind the district is in and possible legal consequences.

“The NIAA broke up with us,” said Mooney. “They imposed a policy on us that they knew damn well was going to put us in a situation where we are now having a moral dilemma. Which kids are we going to protect? And I hate being in this position because … our responsibility and our care is for every single solitary student in this district. And I hate being put in a position where it doesn’t matter what we decide here, kids are going to get hurt whether we stay with the NIAA or whether we go to CIF, and I blame the NIAA for this … I would like to see us stay in the NIAA, but we have legal ramifications if we do that. We have to be willing to face possible interference. I am hoping that should we decide to stay with the NIAA for a year, that they [California Department of Education] will see we are making a concerted effort to try to make things work for our students, and they will work with us.”

Winter Facilities

In preparation for the possible move to the CIF, the district explored options for building winter facilities that would allow teams to practice and play outdoors. One option is a dome structure. However, according to TTUSD Assistant Superintendent Chief Business Officer Todd Rivera, a dome structure would not clear the Division of the State Architect, which must approve all school construction. Another option, a fabric fieldhouse structure, could meet snow load requirements, but comes with a cost of $20 million and would take up to 2 years to construct. A third option, installing artificial turf, allows for snow removal but would cost around $3 million and presents the district with dilemmas of snow storage, added staff time, and turf maintenance.

League Placement

Another added benefit of delaying the move to CIF is league placement. As part of the Sac-Joaquin Section, the best fit for Truckee High School, a Division 3 school, would be the Pioneer Valley League, which includes similarly sized schools in Colfax and Marysville. However, Truckee High School Principal John Neuberger said that the CIF informed him that for school year 2025/26, it only has room for Truckee in the Foothill Valley League, which has much larger schools that include Lincoln and Placer. Pushing TTUSD’s move to the CIF to the 2026/27 school year would place Truckee in the Pioneer Valley League.

“I think we could lose participation when students realized the juggernaut they are facing in the Foothill Valley League,” said Mooney. “I would be much happier waiting when we can join the Pioneer Valley League.”

North Tahoe High School, a Division 2 school, would be integrated in the Sierra Delta League.

A major concern of parents and students is that soccer is a winter sport in the CIF, making practice, home games, and travel challenging, as well as forcing some students to choose between that and other winter sports, like skiing or basketball. Neuberger noted that the San-Joaquin Section has a Division 7 soccer league for boys in the fall and girls in the spring. However, there are no regional or state championships.

The decision to remain in the NIAA did not require a vote, but all five board members agreed. Kramer said she would notify the NIAA by today, the May 15 deadline, that TTUSD would not be leaving for next school year. In making this decision, TTUSD is taking the same approach as LTUSD, which opted from the start to stay in the NIAA for at least 1 more year.

“We felt like it would not be in the best interest of our students to just automatically make a determination and jump,” LTUSD Superintend Todd Cutler told Moonshine, noting that the district is putting in an application with CIF for school year 2026/27. “We’re staying right now. One of the things that I always believe in is not making a hasty, quick decision. Let’s take our time looking at all of these things. In the end, we want to do what’s best for our students. That includes all students.”