MESA, AZ — An East Valley 8th grader is now playing for the boys’ basketball team two weeks after his school barred him from tryouts due to the gender listed on his original birth certificate.
The Queen Creek Unified School District has changed its stance about the eligibility of 14-year-old Laker Jackson.
In mid-October, Eastmark High School removed Laker from tryouts for the boys’ junior high team because his original birth certificate listed him as a female.
“It's been like a year straight for me of training basketball almost daily to make this team,” Laker previously told the ABC15 Investigators.
In time for tryouts, the family provided the school with a doctor’s note saying an exam confirmed Laker was biologically male and a corrected birth certificate from the state.
“I am a biological boy; I was born a boy,” Laker said.
However, district officials then said Laker could only play on coed or girls’ teams, and they would reconsider if the family got chromosomal testing that confirmed Laker’s gender.
“They're trying to drive home a point that is not a point because he's not transgender and he is a biological male, but they're putting him in a category because they want to use him as an example,” Laker’s mom, Becky Jackson, told ABC15 earlier this month.
This week, QCUSD sent ABC15 an updated statement on the situation, saying, ”The school has made concerted efforts to work with the family to implement reasonable accommodations that protect individual student privacy, adhere to state and federal regulations, and safeguard the well-being of all students.”
District officials said Laker was able to try out for boys’ basketball, but other accommodations would remain until “appropriate testing” is completed. That gender-verification testing will be provided at no cost to the family.
Becky texted ABC15 on Tuesday to say she is “happy” her son is now playing on the boys’ basketball team. Laker’s first game was Monday, according to his mom.
While she has concerns that “chromosomal testing may be setting an unnecessary precedent for children in the future,” she says Laker will undergo the testing so he can use the locker room with his teammates and participate in a boys' gym class during school.
QCUSD full statement:
The Queen Creek Unified School District (QCUSD) remains steadfast in its commitment to fairness, integrity, and equal opportunity in all athletic programs.
In response to a recent situation involving a student’s athletic eligibility, administration has acted in good faith by working closely with the family since last school year to address questions related to enrollment documentation, participation in athletics, and implementation of accommodations in accordance with established protocols. This school year, as the family expressed their intention for the student to participate in junior high boys basketball, school administration made numerous attempts via email, phone, and a certified letter to schedule a meeting with the family to discuss participation in boys basketball. The parents did not respond to the school’s multiple attempts.
It should be noted that during the past few school years, the family has presented multiple amended records citing clerical errors. While the district respects every family’s right to update official records in accordance with law, the recurrence of documentation revisions prompted the district to take additional steps before making final eligibility determinations. This process ensures that all decisions are made consistently and in compliance with state and federal regulations.
Throughout this process, the school has made concerted efforts to work with the family to implement reasonable accommodations that protect individual student privacy, adhere to state and federal regulations, and safeguard the well-being of all students. As part of these ongoing efforts, the district has offered to facilitate appropriate testing at no cost to the family to ensure the matter is resolved in an efficient, timely manner. The student is eligible to participate in the boys basketball program while other accommodations remain in place pending additional documentation.
The district values every student and family it serves, and remains committed to transparent communication and the fair application of state and federal regulations that protect opportunities for all students.
