{"id":12613,"date":"2021-03-17T09:38:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-17T13:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/?p=12613"},"modified":"2021-03-17T09:38:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-17T13:38:45","slug":"wave-of-anti-trans-legislation-threatens-kids-nationwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.harvard.edu\/crcl\/wave-of-anti-trans-legislation-threatens-kids-nationwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Wave of Anti-Trans Legislation Threatens Kids Nationwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Across the country, Republican state legislators have introduced bills that would enshrine discrimination against trans student athletes. But the bills have an even larger goal and impact: telling trans people, and in particular trans kids, that they don\u2019t belong. Last year, a similar push was made for bills<\/a> that would bar medical professionals from giving gender-affirming care like hormones and puberty blockers to minors. One such bill, which included prison time for providers who gave gender-affirming care, passed the Alabama Senate last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At least 25 state legislatures<\/a> are considering bills that would restrict trans youth participation in sports. Mississippi\u2019s governor signed<\/a> one of those bills into law last week and South Dakota\u2019s governor is poised<\/a> to sign another that has reached her desk. It\u2019s the result of a coordinated push<\/a> from shadowy conservative groups, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled<\/a> a hate group.<\/p>\n

The bills differ in enforcement, their definitions of gender and sex (and their means of \u201cverification\u201d), and whose participation is directly targeted by the restrictions. A Minnesota bill<\/a> would make a trans girl\u2019s participation on a girls’ team a petty misdemeanor. Many of the bills, like Arkansas\u2019s,<\/a> create a private right of action for cisgender students competing against trans students who violate the prohibition and insulate schools and school districts that enforce the discriminatory policies from liability. Many of the bills require that teams that are not coed be determined by \u201cbiological sex\u201d but only enumerate<\/a> that \u201cstudents of the male sex . . . be ineligible to participate in athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls.\u201d Some of the bills define<\/a> sex on the basis of \u201cthe individual\u2019s original birth certificate issued at the time of birth\u201d while others<\/a> offer no definition. A 2020 Idaho bill required<\/a> a student whose participation was challenged to have a doctor \u201cverify\u201d their sex using \u201creproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or endogenous testosterone, i.e. the level of testosterone the body produces without medical intervention.\u201d As the ACLU has noted<\/a>, this would sanction the harassment, outing, and invasive physical examination of trans and cis students alike.<\/p>\n

However, last year the ACLU successfully argued that Idaho\u2019s bill violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and won an injunction<\/a> against that legislation, succeeding before a Trump appointee. Citing Bostock<\/em>, the judge found that a heightened level of scrutiny was appropriate. While the decision is on appeal, the district court victory shows a path forward for advocates seeking to challenge this hateful wave of legislation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a challenge that is already occurring across the country, both inside the courtroom and out. Last month, the Biden Administration withdrew<\/a> a letter issued by the Trump Administration\u2019s Department of Education\u2019s Office of Civil Rights that interpreted Title IX to exclude trans girls and women from participating on girls\u2019 and women\u2019s teams. The Trump Administration had issued the guidance in response to a Connecticut lawsuit<\/a> challenging the state\u2019s policy of allowing students to compete in accordance with their gender identity. Last week, over 500 college athletes called<\/a> on the NCAA to stop holding events in states that passed or are considering passing legislation that excludes trans athletes. The demand was not without precedent: following the passage of North Carolina\u2019s discriminatory \u201cbathroom bill\u201d in 2016, the NCAA refused to hold events there<\/a> and created a new nondiscrimination policy.<\/p>\n

If history is any guide, defeating these transphobic policies will require a strong fight on all fronts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Across the country, Republican state legislators have introduced bills that would enshrine discrimination against trans student athletes. But the bills 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