We just learned that Pennsylvania lawmakers are once again pushing the anti-transgender bill that targets gender-diverse teen and child student-athletes. We told you about Pennsylvania House Bill 972 when it was introduced last year. This legislation has been misleadingly dubbed “Fairness in Women’s Sports” by supporters.
The Pennsylvania House Education Committee will vote on HB 972 on Tuesday, March 28. If it passes out of Committee, it will be voted on in the House.
Pennsylvania House Bill 972 is part of a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation right-wing strategists are distributing to state lawmakers who are willing to advance their agenda over protecting vulnerable constituents.
WLP strongly opposes this attack on transgender and gender-diverse children. We sent a letter to the Pennsylvania House Education Committee outlining our opposition, which you can read here.
What this Legislation Seeks to Do
HB 972 bans students from participating in women’s interscholastic and intercollegiate sports based on a determination of “biological sex” by unspecified means. This discriminatory bill violates our state and federal laws and constitutions, promotes harmful gender stereotypes that are not supported by science and purports to solve a problem that does not exist.
The denial of athletic opportunities to women is long-standing and widespread in Pennsylvania, but the solution to this problem does not lie in a bill that promotes gender stereotypes that harm all women and discriminates against transgender, nonbinary, and intersex students in violation of our state and federal laws and constitutions.
Meanwhile, Sponsors of HB972 Ignore Potential Gender Discrimination in Sports in Their Districts
Notably, though its supporters call HB 972 the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” it does nothing to fix the deep and persistent gender inequities in athletic programs that are right in the sponsors’ backyards.
We have long advocated for Title IX compliance in Pennsylvania schools and have supported legislation mandating schools submit data to the state so that gender inequities in school-based athletic programs can be addressed. In a Title IX gap analysis conducted last year, we found significant Title IX participation gaps at schools in the districts of lawmakers who are supporting this anti-transgender legislation in the name of gender equity in sports.
- The Title IX participation gap at Bellefonte Area Middle School, a school in Rep. Stephanie Borowicz’s district, shows a Title IX gap of more than 14 percent.
- Avonworth High School, a school in Rep. Valerie Gaydos’ district, has a Title IX participation gap of almost 15 percent.
- Cumberland Valley High School, in Rep. Barbara Gleim’s district, has a Title IX participation gap of almost nine percent.
- Northern High School, in Rep. Dawn Keefer’s district, has a Title IX participation gap of almost eight percent.
Title IX participation gaps as high as these are likely to be illegal.
Take Action to Protect Gender-Diverse & Transgender Kids
We know you may not see this message before the vote in the Pennsylvania House Committee on Tuesday, March 28, so we urge you to prepare for the floor vote by contacting your House Representative and urging them to OPPOSE this discriminatory legislation.
We need to support transgender and gender-diverse kids and their families.
Beyond the fact that this legislation violates state and federal laws and constitutions, it is offensive that lawmakers are using their platform to bully vulnerable, gender non-conforming kids – especially that they are doing so in the name of a legitimate issue actively ignored in their districts.
Women’s Law Project is a public interest law center in Pennsylvania devoted to advancing and defending the rights of women, girls, and LGBTQ+ people in Pennsylvania and beyond. As a non-profit organization, we can not do this work without you. Please consider supporting our work.
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