RICHMOND, Va. — On Monday morning, lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill that would require student-athletes to play sports based on their biological sex to the next stage of the Virginia lawmaking session.
House Bill 1387, sponsored by Virginia Beach Delegate Karen Greenhalgh, would apply to varsity-sanctioned athletics as well as club and intramural sports from Kindergarten through 12th grade, plus public colleges and universities.
The bill requires, "identification of the student's biological sex on an athletics eligibility form signed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to be submitted by any such student who desires to try out for or participate in an interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport."
"We are talking about biological differences between men and women. That simple, there are biological differences and personal differences is not the intent of this bill," Del. Greenhalgh said Monday.
There are already more than one dozen states with a law on the book regarding transgender student-athlete play. On Monday, more than one dozen speakers spoke out both for and against the bill.
Opponents -- including parents of transgender and cisgender children -- cited the bill as discriminatory and working against the notion of transgender students from feeling accepted.
“Being able to fit in on social activities, even club sports, it’s just an essential part of school experience growing up. I’m asking you to oppose this bill instead of picking on kids who are just trying to fit in like everyone else," one speaker from Newport News said.
“Transgender kids are kids just like my kids are kids. They deserve the same access to the benefit of sports that my kids have had," another speaker said.
Supporters argued that athletes who may identify as women but are biologically male create an unequal playing field for female athletes.
“I finished middle school and high school sports without the trauma of competing against a male claiming to be a female. That’s not a privilege that’s my right," a student-athlete at Liberty University said.
Another speaker in support of the bill shared how she competed against swimmer Lia Thomas, who is the first openly transgender athlete to win a NCAA Division I National Championship.
One of the lawmakers to vote down the bill in the subcommittee stage, Del. Eileen Filler-Corn criticized the rhetoric and purpose of the bill.
“Mean-spirited, discriminatory, and certainly offensive," she said.
When asked, Del. Greenhalgh said there are roughly 25 transgender athletes (that she's aware of) that are approved to compete in Virginia.
The bill will next be heard Wednesday in a full Education committee hearing.
The full summary of the bill is as follows:
Requires each interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public elementary or secondary school or by a public institution of higher education to be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex: (i) males, men, or boys; (ii) females, women, or girls; or (iii) coed or mixed if participation on such team or sport is open to both (a) males, men, or boys and (b) females, women, or girls. The bill requires identification of the student's biological sex on an athletics eligibility form signed by a licensed physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant to be submitted by any such student who desires to try out for or participate in an interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport. The bill prohibits any such team or sport that is expressly designated for females, women, or girls from being open to students whose biological sex is male. The bill further prohibits any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a public elementary or secondary school or a public institution of higher education from competing against any interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic team or sport sponsored by a private elementary or secondary school or private institution of higher education unless such private school or institution complies with the applicable provisions of the bill.