State education chief says it's 'inaccurate' to say there are only two genders, in defense of trans athletes

President Donald Trump spars with Maine Gov. Janet Mills over complying with an executive order preventing trans athletes from competing in girls and women's sports.

Washington state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal spoke in defense of transgender athletes in girls sports in an address Thursday, claiming it was "inaccurate" to say there are only two genders. 

"It is quite simply inaccurate to say, biologically, that there are only boys and there are only girls," Reykdal said. "There's a continuum. There's a science to this. There are children who are born intersex. There are children whose hormones and whose chromosomes are not consistent with their sex at birth.

"That's not a debate we're going to have today. I just want to remind you of our civil rights obligations. Our state laws make clear that children get to identify and participate based on the gender in which they identify. We're going to uphold that law."

Reykdal served three terms as a Democratic member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 22nd district.

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While criticizing President Donald Trump's recent executive order that prohibits schools from allowing trans athletes to compete in girls sports, Reykdal cited a statistic of how many transgender athletes there are in his state. 

"Out of nearly a quarter million kids participating in interscholastic athletics and activities in the state of Washington, roughly five to 10 youth have identified themselves as trans participating in those activities," Reykdal said. "If we can't accommodate the needs of five or 10 people — whether there's privacy access for and a privacy opportunity for all students, that's what our laws and rules