Texas Enacts Law Restricting Transgender Student Participation in School Sports

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has approved House Bill 25, which states students can only take part in school sports based on their gender "at or near" the time of birth.

Republican state representative Valoree Swanson, who authored the bill, said she was "overjoyed" at its passing Monday and said it was necessary to uphold federal Title IX legislation and ensure competition within girls' sports remains fair, per Allyson Waller of the Texas Tribune.

"It's so very, very important that we protect everything that women have gained in the last 50 years," Swanson said at a committee hearing.

As a result of Texas' new law, transgender girls can no longer participate in girls' sports and transgender boys can no longer participate in boys' sports unless there is no corresponding girls sport available at their school. 

Texas' prior University Interscholastic League policy stated students could participate in sports based on their birth certificate, but the new law prevents schools from accepting amended birth certificates, per ESPN's Katie Barnes.

A spokesperson for Texas' Department of State Health Services told Barnes an amended birth certificate "would not be apparent," making it unclear how the state plans to enforce the law.

Opponents of the legislation, which figures to face legal challenges, are worried about the message the law sends to transgender children.

Andrea Segovia, the field and policy coordinator for Transgender Education Network of Texas, told Barnes it's an example of "adults bullying kids."

"At the heart of it is this body legislating trans people out of existence. We're talking about public accommodations," Segovia said. "Trans people exist in these spaces. When you're letting bills like this become law, the message is, 'We don't want you in these spaces.'"

Ricardo Martinez, the CEO of Equality Texas, told Walker his organization is focused on "providing healing to transgender children" in the immediate aftermath of the law being passed and will work to find more state legislators who can help transgender children in the future.

"Our organizations will also begin to shift focus to electing pro-equality lawmakers who understand our issues and prioritize representing the vast majority of Texans who firmly believe that discrimination against trans and [LGBTQ] people is wrong," Martinez said.

The law is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 18 in the middle of the 2021-22 school year.