School Board President Interrupts CIF Council Meeting To Challenge 'Boys In Girls Sports'

A California school board president, Sonja Shaw, interrupted a CIF council meeting Thursday morning, demanding to be heard on the topic of transgender athletes.

Sonja Shaw, the Chino Valley School Board President, interrupts a CIF Southern Section Council Meeting on Thursday, September 24 to challenge the CIF's stance on transgender athletes. | CIF Southern Section/Youtube

Sonja Shaw, the Chino Valley School Board President, interrupted a CIF Southern Section Council meeting Thursday morning to challenge the CIF's stance on transgender athletes.

Shaw, who claimed she sat in two and a half hours of traffic to get to the meeting, was late and didn't arrive in time to participate in the public hearing session that would've allowed her three minutes to address the CIF Council and those in attendance.

In a live stream of the meeting provided by the section's Youtube Channel, we can see Shaw interrupting the meeting and starting to voice her opinion on transgender athletes.

"I'm here on the front lines to protect our girls and their sports," she yells. "... Do you think it's okay for boys to play against our girls in sports?"

Shaw tries to continue her speech, but the CIF speaker at the podium pounds a gavel and assesses a recess that prompts the stream operator to cut the audio to the feed. Below is a video of what was caught on camera via the live stream.

High School On SI has reached out to the CIF Southern Section spokesperson for comment and has also sent an email to Shaw, but there has been no response yet. This is a developing story ...

California Law On Transgendered Athletes

California continues to allow transgender student-athletes to participate in high school sports consistent with their gender identity, despite an ongoing national debate and a series of legal challenges to those policies.

Under California Education Code Section 221.5(f), students are permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with their gender identity, regardless of the gender listed on their school records. The California Department of Education says the provision has been state law since 2013.

The CIF's current rules also maintain protections based on gender identity. The 2026-27 CIF Southern Section Blue Book states the following under Article 30, 300.D. titled 'Gender Identity Participation': Participation in interscholastic athletics is a valuable part of the educational experience for all students. All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.

In August, the U.S. Justice Department challenged California's policies, arguing that Title IX requires sports eligibility to be based on biological sex rather than gender identity. On Sept. 1, the Los Angeles Times reported that U.S. District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela dismissed the federal government's lawsuit. Valenzuela determined that Title IX did not clearly require California to exclude transgender girls from girls' teams and that the Supreme Court's June ruling did not require California to change its more inclusive policy.

AB Hernandez Story

AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High, who graduated in the spring of 2026. | Bobby Medellin

The biggest and most notable transgender high school athlete in California was Jurupa Valley's AB Hernandez, a biological male, competing in girls track and field events.

Hernandez has made major headlines the last two springs, winning events at the local, regional, section and state level. In the two year window, Hernandez won five CIF Southern Section titles in long jump, triple jump and high jump; claimed five CIF Masters Meet titles; and finished first at the CIF State championships four times — two in high jump and two in triple jump.

Hernandez' two-year run forged debate, opinion, and even caught the attention of President Donald Trump in May of 2025. He ordered local authorities to now allow Hernandez to compete in the CIF State finals.

President Trump issued a message regarding Hernandez via Twitter/X that concluded with: "In the meantime, I am ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitioned person to compete in the State finals. This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!!"

Hernandez, who is a 2026 high school graduate, went on to compete and win.

More On Sonja Shaw

Sonja Shaw | Chino Valley Unified School District

According to Shaw's profile page on the Chino Valley Unified School District website, she was elected in 2022 and her team will end in 2026.

More on Shaw from the district website:

Sonja Shaw was elected to the Board of Education in November 2022. Born and raised in Chino, Sonja was educated in Chino Valley schools, and graduated from Ayala High School.

Sonja is a mom of two Chino Valley students, and lives in Chino with her husband, Chris, and two fur family members, Jaxx and Kooper. Before serving on the school Board, she owned and operated two small community businesses: training women in fitness and health and running a professional photography business. She also previously held a California Real Estate License.  Additionally, Sonja leads a community-based Bible study. She was motivated to run for school board to give parents a seat at the education table.

Sonja served as President of the Board of Education in 2023 and 2024 and will continue her presidency in 2025. She represents the District as city of Chino liaison, and as a representative to the Baldy View Regional Occupational Program Commission.