House Republicans Skyler Wheeler (Orange City) and Henry Stone (Forest City) introduced a bill Wednesday that would bar transgender girls from playing school sports.
The bill is expected by several lobbyists to be fast-tracked, which means it will be debated in an education subcommittee at 7:30 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 10) morning and then immediately be considered by the full education committee afterward. Meetings can be found here. The subcommittee should be streamed here.
House File 2309 requires that sports be explicitly segregated by a child’s sex assigned at birth, or must be fully coeducational or mixed. It also explicitly says, “only female students, based on their sex, in any team, sport, or athletic event designated as being for females, women, or girls.”
[inline-ad id=”1″]
It defines “sex” as a person’s biological sex, found on the child’s birth certificate.
Trans girls are girls who were assigned male at birth, but identify as female. An important part of their development is being treated as the gender they identify with—that can include clothing, a different name, different pronouns, and generally being treated like a girl.
Trans boys are not called out in the legislation.
The bill also provides that “a student who suffers direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of the bill’s requirements” has cause for damages from the school, district, or athletic organization. It also has protections for people who may face repercussions from the school for reporting a violation.
[inline-ad id=”2″]
It explicitly states schools and administrators that enforce this discrimination have legal protections if there’s a lawsuit or complaint filed, and the state will shoulder the expense of legal defense.
Trans students have been affected by laws like this across the country despite no conclusive evidence of an advantage when it comes to sports.
Nikoel Hytrek
2/09/22
[inline-ad id=”3″]
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Iowans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at Iowa Starting Line has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Iowan families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
Iowa Republicans make outlawing gay marriage key 2024 campaign priority
Iowa Republicans have made outlawing gay marriage a key goal in their 2024 party platform. During the Iowa GOP’s 2024 state convention on Saturday,...
Department of Justice says Iowa immigration law violates US Constitution
If Iowa doesn’t suspend the enforcement of its new immigration law by May 7, the state could face a federal lawsuit, according to the Des Moines...
Rushing: Iowa State president said the quiet part out loud
I want to thank Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen for doing us all a favor by finally saying the quiet part out loud: all the...
Iowa sets aside almost $180 million for year two of voucher program
Iowa has committed nearly $180 million in taxpayer funds to support private school tuition in the 2024-25 school year, which is almost $50 million...
Kalbach: Immediate action needed on corporate ag pollution
Iowa agriculture has undergone substantial changes over the past 40 years. We see it all around us. Rather than crops and livestock being raised on...
VIDEO: Jochum calls Gov. Reynolds’ summer meal program a ‘hunger game’
Iowa Gov. Reynolds announced a competitive $900,000 grant program to feed Iowa children over the summer, months after she declined $29 million in...
