Dahlia Verrill learned how to defend her beliefs around the family dinner table.

“There is not a single dinner that doesn’t end in pretty aggressive comments about pretty controversial things,” the 17-year-old Falmouth High senior said. “We’re all very open to speaking our minds.”

Verrill has dared to speak up in support of transgender students’ rights to participate in youth and school sports. Twenty-six states have enacted laws to keep transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. New Hampshire became the first New England state with such a law in July.

As an eighth-grader, Verrill testified on the floor of the Maine Legislature in opposition to a bill that would have banned transgender students from participating in youth and school sports.

When Verrill was a junior on the Falmouth girls’ cross-country team, she wrote a guest editorial in support of trans-athlete rights, particularly as it pertained to Maine Coast Waldorf runner Soren Stark-Chessa.

“I think part of the importance of writing these pieces and speaking your mind is to foster these conversations and to bridge divides and build community and come to an agreeable consensus,” said Verrill, who this fall was the cross-country team’s manager.

Falmouth High English teacher Amos Dunlap said Verrill’s willingness to tackle the topic “shows bravery. It shows integrity. It shows a desire to bring about change.”

Verrill, who identifies as a cisgender woman, intends to study philosophy and plans to pursue a career in law. She says her understanding of the issue of transgender athlete participation is more nuanced than when she was a middle-school student – largely because of her active discourse with friends who have opposing opinions. But her core belief has not changed.

“I think it’s really unfortunate that we’re telling kids what they can and cannot do and then putting them into a space or team where they don’t feel comfortable,” Verrill said.