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Public commenter urges Smithfield to overhaul transgender athletics protocol, cites Title IX
Summary
At the Dec. 4 Smithfield Student Committee meeting, resident Robert Caradillo urged the district to strike its current transgender-athletics protocol, arguing it violates Title IX and proposing separate teams for biological males and females unless a sport is designated coed. No district action was taken at the meeting.
Robert Caradillo, a resident from Westerly, used the public-forum portion of the Smithfield Student Committee's Dec. 4 meeting to urge the district to change its transgender and gender-nonconforming student protocol as it relates to athletics.
Caradillo told the committee: "Your current transgender, gender non conforming, transitioning students protocol must be stricken" and offered four specific measures he said should be added to the district handbook or anti-bullying policy. He proposed that teams not be mixed by biological sex unless explicitly designated as coed; that middle- and high-school teams be separated by biological sex; and that female teams not compete against teams that include biological males. "Our girls are, are being discriminated against, and it must stop now," he said.
Caradillo referenced the Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIL) and federal Title IX law, asserting that recent RIL policy changes shifted decisions about eligibility to building principals and that the district must ensure compliance with federal law. He questioned whether the district's current protocol "allows this to occur while violating Title IX."
The committee did not respond with a substantive policy reply during the time-stamped transcript coverage. Committee members later noted they had discussed the student handbook over the summer and asked for updates and continued review; Speaker 3 requested follow-up on the handbook and any related subcommittee work.
Why this matters: Caradillo's remarks raise questions about how the district interprets RIL guidance and federal nondiscrimination law for athletics, a subject that can affect participation, safety perceptions and legal risk. The committee did not vote or direct staff to change the protocol during the meeting.
What happens next: Committee members requested updates to the handbook and signaled the discussion should continue in upcoming meetings. No formal action or vote on transgender policy is recorded in the Dec. 4 transcript.
