Lawmakers in Idaho are targeting transgender youth with a proposed ban on their participation in school sports.
Idaho House Bill 500 would discriminate against transgender student athletes by barring their participation in school sports, which is counter to current policies from the Idaho High School Activities Association, and subject them to unnecessary and invasive physical examinations.
“No student should be targeted for discrimination because they are transgender. Participation in school sports leads to many positive outcomes, including greater academic success and improved self-esteem. We shouldn’t deny students the chance to participate because of who they are,” said Kathy Griesmyer of the ACLU of Idaho. “Lawmakers should not promote baseless fears about trans athletes while ignoring the real issues of gender parity in sports when it comes to funding, resources, pay equity and opportunity. This bill harms transgender kids and helps absolutely no one.”
HB 500 would violate basic privacy protections by requiring educators and coaches to identify and separate transgender youth while subjecting them to invasive medical procedures, such as DNA analysis, hormone level monitoring and inspection of the youth’s “internal and external reproductive anatomy.”
Idaho joins a growing list of states where transgender people and their ability to fully participate in life is being attacked. Bills that single out students who are transgender for discrimination violate state and federal constitutional guarantees of equal protection.
The National Women’s Law Center, the Women’s Sports Foundation, Women Leaders in College Sports and others support trans-inclusive policies and oppose efforts to exclude transgender students from participating in sports.
At the high school level, 20 states, including Idaho, allow transgender kids to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity.