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House endorses bill barring biological males from competing in female‑only sports, expands scope to colleges
Summary
HB60 would prohibit students born male from competing in female‑only interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics; sponsors said the change protects women’s lanes and safety in sports, while critics warned of unintended harms and logistical questions affecting intramurals and rankings.
The House Committee of the Whole recommended passage of House Bill 60 on Jan. 30, 2025. The bill would prohibit students who are male at birth from competing on female‑only athletic teams in interscholastic and intercollegiate competition; it also removes the earlier “fallback” provision that had been inserted in prior legislation. The committee reported the bill do pass.
Sponsor Representative Lolli Lawley said the measure extends the earlier K‑12 statutory prohibition to include collegiate athletics (including community colleges) and adds a narrowly drawn approach to individual sports: when a female athlete would be scheduled to compete head‑to‑head against a student known or reasonably believed to be male at birth, the event would be excluded but the team could continue in other events. The change was offered to address disputes that played out publicly when some universities faced intercollegiate matchups involving transgender athletes.
Supporters argued the law preserves Title IX’s objective concept of women‑only competition and protects competitive fairness and safety. “The bill requires that if an athlete is born male at birth, they are banned from competing against biological females only sports,” Lawley said on the floor, adding the bill does not prevent co‑ed or club participation.
Opponents raised practical and legal questions. Representatives asked how the bill would apply to intramurals or elementary‑level play, whether an individual event exclusion could affect athlete rankings or scholarship opportunities, and how schools would determine a “reasonable degree of certainty” about a student’s sex. Sponsors and other members said the bill does not require district‑level witch hunts, and that ordinary documents (birth certificates, etc.) and normal judicial remedies for false accusations remain available.
Committee action: HB60 passed the Committee of the Whole after two committee‑of‑the‑whole amendments clarifying definitions and extending applicability to intercollegiate athletics. Debate centered on drafting details, competitive fairness, and practical implementation; sponsors agreed to uniform definitions already adopted earlier in the session.
Next steps: The bill will proceed to second reading; sponsors said they would work to clarify operational questions raised by members about rankings, intramurals, and event scheduling.
