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SB1278 • 2026

Prohibits elementary and secondary schools and institutions of postsecondary education from being members of athletic organizations that allow students to use performance enhancing drugs

Prohibits elementary and secondary schools and institutions of postsecondary education from being members of athletic organizations that allow students to use performance enhancing drugs

Education Parental Rights
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Coleman, Mary Elizabeth; House handler: N/A
Last action
2026-01-27
Official status
Second Read and Referred S Education Committee
Effective date
2026-08-28

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Prohibits elementary and secondary schools and institutions of postsecondary education from being members of athletic organizations that allow students to use performance enhancing drugs

The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Introduced Print SB 1278 - This act provides that no public school, private school, public charter school, public school district, or public or private institution of postsecondary education shall be a member of any statewide athletic activities association or national intercollegiate athletics organization that allows students to take performance enhancing drugs.

What This Bill Does

  • The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Introduced Print SB 1278 - This act provides that no public school, private school, public charter school, public school district, or public or private institution of postsecondary education shall be a member of any statewide athletic activities association or national intercollegiate athletics organization that allows students to take performance enhancing drugs.
  • Any public school, private school, public charter school, public school district, or public or private institution of postsecondary education that violates this act shall not receive any state aid or other revenues from the state.
  • The parent or guardian of any student, or any student who is over eighteen years old, who is deprived of an athletic opportunity as a result of a violation of the act shall have a cause of action for injunctive or other equitable relief as described in the act.
  • This act is identical to SB 55 (2025) and similar to SB 1440 (2024).

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-27 S241

    Second Read and Referred S Education Committee

  2. 2026-01-07 S77

    S First Read

  3. 2025-12-01 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Prefiled

Official Summary Text

The following summaries of this bill are available:

Print All Summaries

Introduced

Print

SB 1278 - This act provides that no public school, private school, public charter school, public school district, or public or private institution of postsecondary education shall be a member of any statewide athletic activities association or national intercollegiate athletics organization that allows students to take performance enhancing drugs. Any public school, private school, public charter school, public school district, or public or private institution of postsecondary education that violates this act shall not receive any state aid or other revenues from the state. The parent or guardian of any student, or any student who is over eighteen years old, who is deprived of an athletic opportunity as a result of a violation of the act shall have a cause of action for injunctive or other equitable relief as described in the act.

This act is identical to SB 55 (2025) and similar to SB 1440 (2024).
OLIVIA SHANNON

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1278
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR COLEMAN.
3963S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 163.048, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to
performance enhancing drugs in student athletics.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 163.048, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 163.048, 2
to read as follows:3
163.048. 1. As used in this section, the following 1
terms mean: 2
(1) "Athletics", any interscholastic athletic games, 3
contests, programs, activities, exhibitions, or other 4
similar competitions organized and provided for students; 5
(2) "Sex", the two main categories of male and female 6
into which individuals are divided based on an individual's 7
reproductive biology at birth and the individual's genome. 8
2. (1) The general assembly hereby finds the 9
following: 10
(a) A noticeable disparity continues between the 11
athletics participation rates of students who are male and 12
students who are female; and 13
(b) Courts have recognized that classification by sex 14
is the only feasible classification to promote the 15
governmental interest of providing opportunities for 16
athletics for females. 17
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(2) The general assembly hereby declares that it is 18
the public policy of this state to further the governmental 19
interest of ensuring that sufficient opportunities for 20
athletics remain available for females to remedy past 21
discrimination on the basis of sex. 22
3. (1) Except as provided under subdivision (2) of 23
this subsection, no private school, public school district, 24
public charter school, or public or private institution of 25
postsecondary education shall allow any student to compete 26
in an athletics competition that is designated for the 27
biological sex opposite to the student's biological sex as 28
correctly stated on the student's official birth certificate 29
as described in subsection [4] 5 of this section or, if the 30
student's official birth certificate is unobtainable, 31
another government record. 32
(2) A private school, public school, public charter 33
school, or public or private institution of postsecondary 34
education may allow a female student to compete in an 35
athletics competition that is designated for male students 36
if no corresponding athletics competition designated for 37
female students is offered or available. 38
4. No private school, public school, public charter 39
school, public school district, or public or private 40
institution of postsecondary education shall be a member of, 41
or remit any funds to, any statewide athletic activities 42
association or national intercollegiate athletics 43
organization that allows student athletes to use performance 44
enhancing drugs. 45
5. For purposes of this section, a statement of a 46
student's biological sex on the student's official birth 47
certificate or another government record shall be deemed to 48
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have correctly stated the student's biological sex only if 49
the statement was: 50
(1) Entered at or near the time of the student's 51
birth; or 52
(2) Modified to correct any scrivener's error in the 53
student's biological sex. 54
[5.] 6. A private school, public school district, 55
public charter school, or public or private institution of 56
postsecondary education that violates subdivision (1) of 57
subsection 3 of this section or subsection 4 of this section 58
shall not receive any state aid under this chapter or 59
chapter 173 or any other revenues from the state. 60
[6.] 7. The parent or guardian of any student, or any 61
student who is over eighteen years of age, who is deprived 62
of an athletic opportunity as a result of a violation of 63
this section shall have a cause of action for injunctive or 64
other equitable relief, as well as payment of reasonable 65
attorney's fees, costs, and expenses of the parent, 66
guardian, or student. The relief and remedies set forth 67
shall not be deemed exclusive and shall be in addition to 68
any other relief or remedies permitted by law. 69
[7.] 8. The department of elementary and secondary 70
education and the department of higher education and 71
workforce development shall each promulgate all necessary 72
rules and regulations for the implementation and 73
administration of this section. Such rules and regulations 74
shall ensure compliance with state and federal law regarding 75
the confidentiality of student medical information. Any 76
rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in 77
section 536.010, that is created under the authority 78
delegated in this section shall become effective only if it 79
complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of 80
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chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This 81
section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the 82
powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 83
536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove 84
and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, 85
then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed 86
or adopted after August 28, 2023, shall be invalid and void. 87
[8.] 9. The provisions of this section shall expire on 88
August 28, 2027. 89
[9.] 10. If any provision of this section or the 90
application thereof to anyone or to any circumstance is held 91
invalid, the remainder of this section and the application 92
of such provisions to others or other circumstances shall 93
not be affected thereby. 94
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