Gender Identity

Tomorrow Project Challenges

Gender Identity

Vermont's Champlain Valley School District is under federal investigation for allowing transgender students to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. The district is one of 18 educational entities nationwide being investigated. Read on, and share your thoughts.


The U.S. Department of Education launched the probe Jan. 14 into what it said were violations of Title IX, a federal law which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. In a news release, the department said that Champlain Valley and 17 others had policies that "jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities."

Champlain Valley School District, representing about 4,000 students in Williston, Shelburne, Charlotte, Hinesburg and St. George, follows Vermont state policy that permits students to participate in sports in accordance with their gender identity.

Write about this clash of federal and state policies.

[Special thanks to Calico Frost for inspiring this challenge with the essay, "We will overcome"]


Read the story in Seven Days: 

"Trans Athlete Policy Prompts Federal Probe of Champlain Valley Schools," by Alison Novak, Seven Days, Jan. 14, 2026

Seven Days Story

[Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash]

Submissions

  • We will overcome

    United States Department of Education,

    I'd like to start off by saying that this is a matter that has multiple ways of approaching it, discussing it, and evaluating it.