The Republicans of the Chamber approved the ban on transgender girls of female sports from kindergarten to the 12th year.
The bills approved Thursday, May 22, would also allow students to continue school districts if they were “injured due to a violation of the policy”.
Transgender girls could always compete in mixed divisions and transgender boys and boys would be allowed to compete in boys’ divisions. The bill defines sex as the designation indicated on the original birth certificate of a person.
The bills have seen the support of all the Republicans and the opposition of all Democrats except one.
One of the bills adopted Thursday would make the protections go back to allow schools to base the eligibility of a student to participate in sports on the basis of sex attributed to birth.
The representative of the State Amos O’Neal, D-Saginaw, was the only democrat to vote in favor of this bill Thursday, although he voted against the bill prohibiting transgender girls from female sports in kindergarten to the 12th year.
It is unlikely that bills will adopt the Democrat controlled Senate.
The representative of Bill Sponsor State Jason Woolford, R-Howell, said that restrictions would ensure fair competition and protections for women in school sports.
“The real victims are young women and girls that even the United Nations that we recognize have had equal chances in athletics that are taken from them,” Woolford said in a soil speech on Thursday. “Scholarships on which they may have depended their subsistence granted to male peers and the recognitions and achievements they have devoted so much time, efforts, emotional energy and trying to achieve all the stripped.”
Woolford cited a United Nations report in 2024 according to which the fact of allowing transgender women will compete against women has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals. The report was based on third -party information subject to the UN.
There is currently no transgender girl who participates in high school sports divisions in Michigan, although there were two participants last fall, according to Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA).
In relation: Transgender girls are said to be prohibited from female school sports under Michigan Bill
The representative of the State Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, the first openly non-binary legislator of the legislature, said that bills promoted intimidation and harassment against children and erod their civil rights.
“This bill is clearly discriminatory against children,” said Dievendorf in a speech on the ground. “It makes girls at all levels – not exclusively transgender and non -binary children – pawns in an absurd and degrading debate on human value. I am sick and tired of everything that is done to try to divide people. Everything that is done by cruelty.
“Being a child is already quite difficult. All children should be able to participate in sports for the same reasons as anyone: invaluable lessons in teamwork and discipline, friendships for life and physical and mental health benefits. ”
The MHSAA allows transgender girls to participate in female sports with an exemption. Derogations are not required to compete in boys’ teams.
These derogations are provided each season and were granted last fall to two transgender girls. No derogation was granted during the winter season, nor for the current spring season.
There are around 175,000 secondary athletes in MHSAA member schools.
MHSAA has maintained its transgender participation policy President Donald Trump in February published an executive decree aimed at banning transgender women in female sports at all levels of education.
The Chamber adopted a resolution earlier this year, urging MHSAA to align its policy with Trump’s order, saying that non-compliance could cause federal funding for school districts.
In relation: Michigan House in Mhsaa: Keep transgender girls outside women’s sports
For this story, MHSAA referred Mlive to his previous declaration of March.
In this statement, MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly said that the organization’s rules and policies were in accordance with the law of the state and federal.
Kimmerly said the MHSAA will not invert its transgender participation policy unless there is a change in state law or a resolution of Legal challenges against Trump’s decree.
Equality Michigan, an LGBTQ + Political Advocacy organization, condemned the adoption of bills on Thursday, saying that MHSAA is well equipped and informed to ensure the safety of high school and competition athletes.
“The bills, beyond discrimination by openly encouraging young transgender people, could also submit all the children of Michigan to dangerous and invasive inspections and” wrote Michigan equality officials on social networks.
Under bills, students could continue a school district if they have suffered a prejudice or have been deprived of athletic opportunities by the failure of this district to follow the proposed transgender prohibition.
The governments of states and premises would also be prohibited from investigating or invoicing a school that applied the prohibition.
Michigan legislature in 2023 adopted legal protections for LGBTQ residents By including sexual orientation and gender identity in the Elliott-larsen civil rights law. The law protects people from discrimination based on race, sex and other categories.
The law currently prohibits education establishments from engaging in discriminatory practices. One of the bills adopted on Thursday would make these protections go back to allow schools to base the eligibility of a student to participate in sports according to sex allocated to birth.