Sports

Learn more about student sports in and out of schools, including how athletics affect students’ health, well-being, and academic achievement

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Sports balls overlayed with data charts.
Statistics on School Sports: How Many Students Play Sports? Which Sports Do They Play?
Browse key data on school sports, including how often girls and boys are participating and which ones they are choosing to play.
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High school senior Areion Coln drinks water after football practice in Richardson, Texas, on July 24, 2023.
High school senior Areion Coln drinks water after football practice in Richardson, Texas, on July 24, 2023.
LM Otero/AP
School Climate & Safety High School Athletes Start Fall Workouts Amid Record-Breaking Heat
Most heat-related injuries can be avoided if schools implement best practices. 
Elizabeth Heubeck & Lydia McFarlane, July 25, 2023
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5 min read
SKATE stills 04 2 BS
Mathematics Video Skating Into STEM: Teaching Middle School Girls Math Through Movement
This Illinois program is fostering an interest in STEM for middle school girls through figure skating.
Sam Mallon, July 21, 2023
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3:59
Photo from tv series Ted Lasso
Apple TV+ / Getty
Student Well-Being Opinion What ‘Ted Lasso’ Can Teach Us About School Sports
School athletics has the potential to be wonderful, but not if we ignore the history of toxicity in many athletics programs.
Liz MacLauchlan, June 29, 2023
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4 min read
Protesters fill the Ohio Statehouse corridor on April 19, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio in opposition to a bill that would ban transgender girls from playing in girls sports at K-12 and collegiate levels. A House education panel voted the Republican-championed measure out of committee Wednesday, May 10, along partisan lines. The full House could put it to a vote as soon as next week.
Protesters fill the Ohio Statehouse corridor on April 19, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio in opposition to a bill that would ban transgender girls from playing in girls sports at K-12 and collegiate levels. The U.S. Department of Education's proposed Title IX rule change would challenge state-level bans on transgender athletes playing sports that align with their gender identity.
Samantha Hendrickson/AP
Equity & Diversity Federal Rule on Trans Athletes Is Delayed. Here's What That Means for Schools
The U.S. Department of Education announced it will not release its new Title IX rules until October, a five-month delay.
Libby Stanford, June 2, 2023
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5 min read
Ember, an 18-year-old transgender girl, plays softball for her team in Ohio. If passed, an Ohio bill would prohibit Ember from playing girls' sports.
Ember Zelch, a transgender girl, plays softball for her high school team in Ohio. A bill in the state's legislature would prohibit trans girls from playing girls sports in school.
Courtesy Photo
Equity & Diversity Proposed Title IX Rule on Trans Athletes Poses Legal Challenge for Athletic Directors
The proposed Title IX rule change would require schools to do a lot of legal work if they want to ban trans students from playing sports.
Libby Stanford, April 19, 2023
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8 min read
Hundreds of students carry signs and walk out of school on Transgender Day of Visibility outside Omaha Central High School on March 31, 2023 in Omaha, Neb. Students are protesting LB574 and LB575 in the Nebraska Legislature, which would ban certain gender-affirming care for youth and would prevent trans youth from competing in girls sports, respectively.
Hundreds of students carry signs and walk out of school on Transgender Day of Visibility outside Omaha Central High School on March 31, 2023 in Omaha, Neb. Students are protesting LB574 and LB575 in the Nebraska Legislature, which would ban certain gender-affirming care for youth and would prevent trans youth from competing in girls sports, respectively.
Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP
Law & Courts U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Reinstate West Virginia’s Transgender Athlete Ban
Amid a dissent by two justices, the Supreme Court declined for now to get involved in transgender student participation in girls' sports.
Mark Walsh, April 6, 2023
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4 min read
Mae Keller, a senior, carries a "Trans Kids Matter" sign and cheers as hundreds of students walk out of school on Transgender Day of Visibility outside Omaha Central High School on March 31, 2023 in Omaha, Neb. Students are protesting LB574 and LB575 in the Nebraska Legislature, which would ban certain gender-affirming care for youth and would prevent trans youth from competing in girls sports, respectively.
Mae Keller, a senior, carries a "Trans Kids Matter" sign and cheers as hundreds of students walk out of school on Transgender Day of Visibility outside Omaha Central High School on March 31, 2023 in Omaha, Neb. Students are protesting LB574 and LB575 in the Nebraska Legislature, which would ban certain gender-affirming care for youth and would prevent trans youth from competing in girls sports, respectively.
Anna Reed/Omaha World-Herald via AP
Equity & Diversity Schools Couldn't Ban All Trans Athletes Under New Title IX Proposal
The Education Department released a long-awaited proposed change to Title IX aiming to clarify eligibility criteria for school sports.
Libby Stanford, April 6, 2023
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8 min read
Albany High School track team members pose after being kicked out their practice and a lacrosse game the same day for wearing sports bras on an 80-degree day.
Albany High School track team members pose after being kicked out their practice and a lacrosse game the same day for wearing sports bras on an 80-degree day.
Courtesy of Kayla Huba
School Climate & Safety How Athletes Suspended for Wearing Sports Bras to Practice Changed the Dress Code
Thirteen track athletes were suspended for wearing sports bras to practice. They fought the decision and pushed for a changed dress code.
Eesha Pendharkar, March 31, 2023
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6 min read
Rebekah Bruesehoff, 14, poses for a portrait in New Jersey, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. The transgender teenager competes on her middle school field hockey team and hopes to keep playing in high school. "It’s all been positive,” she said. “The coaches have been really helpful.”
Rebekah Bruesehoff poses for a portrait in New Jersey, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. The now 16-year-old transgender teenager said playing field hockey gives her "confidence, strength, and a place to belong," during a press conference on a bill to limit transgender youth participation in sports on March 8, 2023.
Matt Rourke/AP
Equity & Diversity With No Action From Biden, House GOP Seeks to Ban Trans Girls From School Sports
The Biden administration last June proposed protections for LGBTQ students, but hasn't said those protections apply to trans athletes.
Libby Stanford, March 8, 2023
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4 min read
Photographic negative image of aggressive spectators shouting at each others while others intervene.
iStock/Getty Images + EdWeek
Families & the Community Parents' Bad Behavior at School Sports Events Has Gotten Extreme
A adult brawl with deadly consequences at a boys' basketball game has renewed concern.
Elizabeth Heubeck, February 3, 2023
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4 min read
Judge gavel on law books with statue of justice and court government background. concept of law, justice, legal.
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Law & Courts West Virginia Law Barring Transgender Girls From School Sports Upheld by Federal Judge
The decision is a turnabout for the judge, who cast doubt on the law in 2021 and issued an order allowing a transgender girl to compete.
Mark Walsh, January 6, 2023
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4 min read
Buffalo Bills players and staff pray for Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Cincinnati. The game has been postponed after Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin collapsed, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced.
Players and staff pray for the Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin after the 24-year-old athlete suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Joshua A. Bickel/AP
Student Well-Being Cardiac Arrests Can Happen to Student-Athletes, Too. How Schools Can Be Ready
The cardiac arrest of NFL safety Damar Hamlin has heightened awareness that schools need to be prepared for such health emergencies.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 4, 2023
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4 min read
Image of columns.
E+
Law & Courts The 8 Most Consequential Developments in Education Law in 2022
The list includes major decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court, a transition on the high court, and several lower court decisions.
Mark Walsh, December 22, 2022
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6 min read
A multiple exposure of a wooden gavel and a long row of columns from a courthouse.
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Law & Courts Appeals Court Upholds Connecticut's Pro-Transgender Student Athletics Policy
The court hinted its agreement that Title IX protects transgender athletes who seek to compete consistent with their gender identity.
Mark Walsh, December 16, 2022
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3 min read
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