# Plain Language Summary: Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023

This bill aims to establish rules about who can participate in school sports teams based on sex. Specifically, it would require that athletic teams designated for girls or women be limited to students whose sex was recorded as female at birth. The bill applies to schools that receive federal funding and participate in sports programs. The core idea behind the bill is to address concerns about fairness in women's and girls' sports competitions.

The practical effect would be that schools would need to verify students' sex at birth before allowing them to join girls' or women's sports teams. This would likely affect transgender students, as the bill would prevent those assigned male at birth from competing on girls' teams, even if they identify as female. Schools would need to develop procedures to check birth certificates or similar documentation to comply with this requirement. The bill doesn't directly address boys' or men's teams, focusing only on protecting the women's and girls' category.

This legislation touches on ongoing debates about fairness, inclusion, and how schools should handle transgender athletes. Supporters argue it protects opportunities and fair competition for cisgender girls and women in sports. Critics raise concerns about how this affects transgender students' ability to participate in school athletics and whether such rules are necessary or appropriate. The bill would apply nationwide to any school receiving federal education funding, making it a significant policy change if enacted.

Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023

Tuberville, Tommy

Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 This bill generally prohibits school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls. Specifically, the bill provides that it is a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded education programs or activities to operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletic programs or activities that allow individuals of the male sex to participate in programs or activities that are designated for women or girls. (Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities, including in public elementary and secondary schools and in colleges and universities.) Under the bill, sex is based on an individual's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.