“This is too important to improvise”: D49 superintendent says sports lawsuit seeks clarity

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice

Superintendent Peter Hilts says protecting girls' athletic opportunity—and preventing boys from lifelong regret—is only part of the story. It's also about fixing incoherent policies and standing in the gap as adults.

Colorado Springs’ School District 49 made headlines in May when it filed a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s anti-discrimination law and CHSAA’s transgender athlete policy.

“We wanted to get in front of the coming legal conflict,” he explained in an interview with RMV. “We think this is too important to improvise.”

The district’s enacted policy separates sports, locker rooms and team travel by biological sex—a direct clash with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) and Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) bylaws that require access based on gender identity.

Hilts said the lawsuit isn’t about defying those authorities—it’s about resolving the contradiction.

“It’s said, ‘the best way to determine the future is to help make it.’”

It’s early in the proceedings, but the risks for D49 are anything but hypothetical. If Colorado continues enforcing its current mandates, D49 and others could risk their federal funding by holding the line. At the same time, if they do comply, Hilts believes they’re violating Title IX.

CHSAA’s ‘irreconcilable’ bylaws

Among the defendants is CHSAA, whose rules Hilts described as not just confusing—but impossible to reconcile.

“CHSAA’s bylaws themselves are completely oppositional,” he said. “They’re incoherent, irreconcilable.”

On one hand, CHSAA policies acknowledge that allowing biological boys to compete in girls’ sports may suppress female participation. On the other, they mandate schools accommodate students based solely on gender identity—disregarding biological sex entirely.

“We think the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act is wrongly constituted. And therefore we think that the Attorney General and the Attorney General’s role in enforcing the Anti-Discrimination Act is wrongly purposed.”

That’s because CADA still prohibits sex-based classifications—a direct contradiction, Hilts argued, to how Title IX and federal executive guidance define fairness and privacy protections. 

“CHSAA is only part of the problem,” Hilts said. “Their bylaws require state officials to be on the board—that makes them a pseudo state actor.”

Resolving the CHSAA piece without addressing state statute would leave districts exposed to conflicting directives and continued legal uncertainty—the very dilemma D49 set out to challenge.

Protecting girls—and boys

While the legal filing emphasizes the impact on female athletes, Hilts is adamant that the issue is bigger than girls’ sports. Young men, he said, are also at risk—not from injury, but from emotional harm.

“We would not want to put one of our boys in a position of harming a girl because of disproportionate strength,” he said. “Or of taking an opportunity away from her because of superior speed or stamina.”

Hilts warned that this kind of psychological weight can leave scars as lasting as a lost scholarship.

“We’re protecting individual students from the potential trauma of either harming or being harmed by unfair competition.”

He’s seen it play out in real time, boys walking away from wrestling matches against girls—not because they were overmatched, but because they believed it wasn’t right.

For Hilts, those decisions say less about protest—and more about character.

“Sometimes young people see things with a little simplicity and clarity. They just inherently understand that it’s unfair. And they don’t want to be an agent of that unfairness.”

Hilts warned that living by that conviction can cost students the very things they’ve worked for — a championship, a scholarship or a rare chance to compete at the highest level.

“So I’m inspired by the courage of athletes who forfeit instead of accepting unfair conditions… I might lose a little face or a little sleep. They lost their pinnacle.”

That, he added, is exactly why D49 adopted a clear policy. Hilts said today’s climate often penalizes students who act on instinctive fairness.

“C.S. Lewis said if everyone is running off a cliff, the person who turns around looks crazy,” he said, adding that students who stand firm are often the ones who face the greatest scrutiny.

Faced with that reality, he said, makes it even more important for adults to take the lead.

“Our policy pulls that decision up to the adult level,” he said. “We think it’s our responsibility as adults to make it for them.”

Let the adults be the adults

That recurring theme—adult responsibility—is core to Hilts’ entire approach. He described it not just as an educational ethic, but a moral obligation.

“We should not place the burdens of adult decision-making and adult consequences on children who should not yet have to bear that weight.” 

He encourages parents and students to “plant their feet” before a crisis happens. Referencing Abraham Lincoln’s maxim, he urges families to “be sure your feet are planted in the right place, and then stand firm.”

Hilts sees the failure to protect students—and the trend of offloading controversial decisions onto teens—as one of the more damaging consequences of recent policy shifts.

“We should begin by making the decision for them, involve them… explain and justify… anticipating that once they’re 18, they’ll be fully on their own,” he said. “Let’s walk them up to that age of majority very purposefully.”

‘We want clarity’

Hilts said principals and coaches aren’t asking for politics—they just want predictability.

“What all of us always want as coaches and directors is we want clarity.” He added, “The last 10 years—the rules have changed all over the place.”

Hilts brought up two examples that, to him, reflect just how unstable the rules have become.

One involved college volleyball. During the Mountain West Conference, Boise State and other teams walked away rather than play San Jose State during the semi-finals, whose women’s roster included a male-born athlete.

The other happened during a California high school track and field state championship competition—now facing separate federal litigation. Hilts referenced the case involving transgender athlete AB Hernandez, where officials changed medal eligibility partway through the tournament. “California changed the rules during the semi-final round of the state championships,” he said. “They changed the rules to say that if a girl were displaced by a biological boy, then they would give out two medals for that place.”

For many coaches, Hilts said, that kind of mid-game adjustment crossed a line. “That’s irresponsible for adults, changing the rules during the semi-final round.” He shared, “If I’m a coach, I’m angry about that. I might’ve planned differently. I might’ve even recruited differently.”

Hilts said the lawsuit gives athletic programs the clarity they need—even if the outcome remains uncertain.

A stand worth taking

D49 isn’t the only district taking a stand. Academy District 20 has joined the federal lawsuit, and other districts—including Montezuma-Cortez—have voiced interest. 

“There’s a lot of complexity,” Hilts acknowledged. “Every school district is a complex of the community, the administration and the board.” He added, “Our board provided the leadership resource—and the financial resource—that made it possible for us to take this stand alone.”

For families and athletes navigating today’s landscape, Hilts offered advice drawn from experience.

“I’ve seen boy wrestlers step onto the mat and when a girl came out to oppose them, they said, ‘I forfeit,’” he recalled. “I don’t think they figured that out in the 15 seconds before the referee joined them. I think they had made a decision. They had planted their feet — and followed through.”

To parents and students, his advice is to decide before the pressure hits.

“Make a decision,” he said. “Decide what you will and won’t do. What you will and won’t tolerate. And then stick to it.”

He followed it with a quote from Abraham Lincoln—“Be sure your feet are planted in the right place, and then stand firm.”

Hilts then shared the message he’s given at every graduation for the past six years.

“Wherever you find yourself, do the next right thing. If you do the next right thing multiple times in a row, you end up creating a more right world.”