.

The district has a duty under California law to protect students from discrimination based on gender identity, it said, pointing to Education Code 221.5 (f), which states schools “shall allow a student to participate on an athletic team that is consistent with the student’s gender identity.” JUSD also pointed to similar guidance issued by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the district added. “We are working diligently to add new matches to our schedule so our athletes can play all the games they have trained so hard for.”

The forfeits came in the wake of a similar decision by Riverside Poly High School to back out of a scheduled Aug. 15 match against Jurupa Valley. Parents of athletes on that team and a Riverside school board member told Fox News Digital their decision to forfeit the match was motivated in part by the participation of the team’s transgender member, senior AB Hernandez.

The backlash against the Jurupa Valley team has continued in recent days. Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, responded to some of the criticism in a statement posted to social media, which read in part: “I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart.”

She went on to say her daughter is “petite” and that her difference is not physical size or muscularity but rather her prowess as an athlete. “This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” Hernandez said. “She has not even known that the other teams are forfeiting games because she is on our team.”

This is the second time Hernandez has been at the center of a national controversy over transgender participation in girls’ sports. In the spring track and field season, she took first place in the state in the long jump and triple jump. Her victories were met by protests from other female athletes and their parents, some of whom wore “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts. Former President Donald Trump also posted to Truth Social before the state finals, urging California not to allow a trans girl to compete, though he did not mention Hernandez by name.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policies allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports, even though Trump had signed an executive order in February banning it.

For Hernandez, the focus should be on playing games. Instead, the season may be remembered for the forfeits and a community split over how to approach the matter.

Munoz, a parent in the Jurupa Valley district whose daughter has played on the volleyball team with Hernandez for three years, told Fox News Digital she is frustrated with how things have turned out.

“It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz said.

The local school board meetings have been flashpoints, with the topic of transgender athletes drawing parents to meetings on both sides of the issue.

In one recent meeting of the Riverside Unified School District board, parents expressed both support for the Riverside Poly girls who refused to play and also sympathy for transgender children who want to play on their preferred teams.