The mother of a Quakertown Community School District student filed a federal lawsuit after her daughter, a student athlete, was forced to compete against a biological male.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) and the U.S. Department of Education are also defendants, as well as the Colonial School District.
The suit, filed by Holly Magalengo on behalf of her daughter A.M., claims A.M.’s constitutional rights were violated and she suffered harm.
A.M. is a senior and a member of the Quakertown Community High School girls’ cross-country team, which competed against the Plymouth Whitemarsh High School team on Sept. 11, 2024.
A biological male, L.A., competed for Plymouth Whitemarsh against the all-female Quakertown team and won. A.M. came in second.
A.M. told L.A., “You are not a girl. You should not be racing against girls,” the suit said.
The PWMHS cross-country coaching staff complained to the QHS coaching staff about A.M.’s comment. They also said they’d reach out to QHS Athletic Director Brian Laiacona.
On Sept. 12, 2024, A.M.’s parents asked QHS for support in keeping biological males from competing in female sports and protecting female athletes, the suit said.
They were rebuffed and told it was the decision of the Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, “which we do not control.”
“Women and men are not biologically equal,” the suit noted. Citing statistics, it said, “Women will not run, jump, swim or ride as fast as men.”
“On Dec. 13, 2024, A.M. was again subjected to violations of her equal protection rights when she had to compete against L.A. in the 4X400 during the DVGTCA Meet. PWMHS and the PIAA again allowed the biological male to race in a women’s race, providing that L.A. was a female. The defendants’ actions harmed A.M.,” the suit said. She asks for “damages for the violation of her civil rights, financial loss, physical harm, humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional distress in amounts to be determined at trial and as are allowed under the statute.”
Brian Laiacona, Quakertown Community High School’s athletic director, told DVJournal, “Different sports organizations and governing bodies have various policies in place to address concerns with yours, aiming to create an environment where all athletes can compete.
“The PIAA bylaws in Article XVI Section 4E states: ‘Where a student’s gender is questioned or uncertain, the decision of the principal as to the student’s gender will be accepted by the PIAA.’ The decision for which team their student-athlete competes under is the decision of the Plymouth Whitemarsh School District administration, which we do not control.”
Polls show Americans overwhelmingly support keeping biological males out of girls sports. In January, the U.S. House passed the bipartisan “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” with the support of Bucks County Republican Rep Brian Fitzpatrick.
The three Democrats who represent the Delaware Valley — Reps. Dean, Houlahan and Scanlon — all voted “no.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order preventing biological males from competing on girls’ teams.
Asked about the Quakertown case, Craig Trainor, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, told DVJournal, “As President Trump made clear, any entity that receives taxpayer dollars and violates Title IX faces losing federal funding. We encourage anyone enduring discrimination or retaliation because of a covered institution’s suspected Title IX violation to file a complaint with OCR. The Trump Education Department will continue to work to ensure schools and athletic associations across the country are in compliance with Title IX, and we welcome states to do the same.”
Jamie Reed, executive director of the Courage Coalition and a whistleblower who formerly worked at a gender change clinic, told DVJournal the differences between male and female athletes are obvious.
“I hold a master’s of science in clinical research. Medical providers absolutely know the difference between girls and boys, men and women. And there are also really easy ways in sports to do this. There can be a simple oral swab that goes in the cheek if we really need to determine sex.
Reed, who says she’s seen cases involving “gender-affirming care” from medical providers for children as young as age three, says the recent surge in gender dysphoria cases among children is in part a result of social pressures.
“Basically, they were given this message: ‘Do you feel distressed about your body and puberty? Then you’re probably trans.’ And that’s just the wrong message we needed to be sending to kids. And we also see that the kids who most latched onto this were girls who are incredibly susceptible to socially mediated forces. They’re very much concerned about their peers and their peer groups and appearance. And we just saw this explosion occur around the world.”
PIAA did respond to a request to comment on Thursday. Colonial School District officials also declined to respond.
