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23LSO-0252
2023
STATE OF WYOMING
23LSO-0252
Numbered
2.0
HOUSE BILL NO. HB0187
Student eligibility in interscholastic activities-2.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Crago, Northrup, Oakley, Stith and Western and Senator(s) Schuler
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to school sports; prohibiting students of the male sex from competing on a team designated for students of the female sex as specified; alternatively providing for the state board of education to determine student eligibility as specified; providing definitions; requiring rulemaking; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1
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W.S. 21
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25
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101 through 21
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25
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204 are created to read:
CHAPTER 25
STUDENT ELIGIBILITY IN INTERSCHOLASTIC ACTIVITIES
ARTICLE 1
PARTICIPATION IN FEMALE SPORTS
21
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25
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101.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this chapter:
(i)
"Coed" or "mixed" means that a team is composed of members of both sexes who traditionally compete together;
(ii)
"Interscholastic athletic activity" means that a student represents the student's school in an athletic or sporting activity;
(iii)
"School" includes primary, secondary and institutions of higher education. Nothing in this article shall be construed to limit students of out-of-state institutions of higher education from competing in this state;
(iv)
"Sex" means the biological, physical condition of being male or female, determined by an individual's genetics and anatomy at birth.
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25
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102.
Participation in school athletic activities.
(a)
A public school or a private school that competes against a public school shall expressly designate school athletic activities and teams as one (1) of the following based on sex:
(i)
Designated for students of the male sex;
(ii)
Designated for students of the female sex; or
(iii)
Coed or mixed.
(b)
A student of the male sex shall not compete, and a public school shall not allow a student of the male sex to compete, with a team designated for students of the female sex in an interscholastic athletic activity.
(c)
A government entity or licensing or accrediting organization shall not entertain a complaint, open an investigation or take any other adverse action against a school described in subsection (a) of this section for maintaining separate school athletic activities for students of the female sex.
(d)
Nothing in this section prohibits a school from allowing a student of either gender from participating with a team designated for students of the female sex, consistent with school policy, outside of competition in an interscholastic athletic activity in accordance with subsection (b) of this section.
ARTICLE 2
STUDENT ELIGIBILITY
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25
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201.
Definitions.
(a)
As used in this article:
(i)
"Athletic association" means an association that governs or regulates a student's participation in an athletic interscholastic activity;
(ii)
"Board" means the state board of education;
(iii)
"Female
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designated" means an interscholastic activity that is designated specifically for female students;
(iv)
"Gender
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designated" means an interscholastic activity or facility that is designated specifically for female or male students;
(v)
"Gender identity" has the meaning provided in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM
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5). A person's gender identity can be shown by providing evidence, including but not limited to medical history, care or treatment of the gender identity, consistent and uniform assertion of the gender identity or other evidence that the gender identity is sincerely held, part of a person's core identity and not being asserted for an improper purpose;
(vi)
"Interscholastic activity" means an activity in which a student represents the student's school in the activity in competition against another school;
(vii)
"Male
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designated" means an interscholastic activity that is designated specifically for male students;
(viii)
"Student" means a student who is enrolled in a K
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12 public school that participates in interscholastic activities;
(ix)
"This article" means W.S. 21
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25
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201 through 21
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25
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204.
21
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25
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202.
Effect contingent on court ruling.
This article is effective only during the period when a court of competent jurisdiction has invalidated or enjoined W.S. 21
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25
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102. The attorney general shall, within thirty (30) days of the date of any invalidation or enjoinder, notify the governor who shall certify to the office of the secretary of state that this article is effective. If at any point the invalidation or enjoinder is lifted, the attorney general shall, within thirty (30) days of the invalidation or enjoinder being lifted, notify the governor who shall certify to the office of the secretary of state that this article is no longer effective and W.S. 21
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25
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102 is effective.
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25
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203.
School activity eligibility.
(a)
The board shall determine the eligibility of a student to participate in interscholastic activities as provided in this article, and may consult with mental health professionals, sports physiologists, coaches, athletic directors and other experts in making a determination of eligibility.
(b)
The board shall promulgate rules to determine eligibility based on physical characteristics for the age and gender group in a given gender
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designated interscholastic activity including height, weight, physical characteristics relevant to the application of the standard described in W.S. 21
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25
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204 and other relevant factors.
(c)
Any record of the board, including any communication between an athletic association and the board, that relates to a specific student is not a public record for purposes of W.S. 16
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4
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201 through 16
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4
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205.
(d)
Members of the board are immune from suit with respect to all acts done and actions taken in good faith in carrying out the purposes of this article.
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25
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204.
Eligibility for interscholastic activities.
(a)
Notwithstanding any state board rule or policy of an athletic association, and except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section:
(i)
Once a student has obtained the eligibility approval of the board under subsection (d) of this section, the student may participate in a gender
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designated interscholastic activity that does not correspond with the sex designation on the student's birth certificate; or
(ii)
If a student does not obtain the eligibility approval of the board under subsection (d) of this section, the student shall not participate in a gender
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designated interscholastic activity that does not correspond with the sex designation on the student's birth certificate.
(b)
A student who has undergone or is undergoing a gender transition shall obtain the eligibility approval of the board under subsection (d) of this section before participating in a gender
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designated interscholastic activity that corresponds with the student's gender identity.
(c)
Nothing in this subsection prohibits a student from participating in a gender
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designated interscholastic activity in accordance with 34 C.F.R. 106.41(b) as of December 31, 2022.
(d)
When a student registers to participate in a gender
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designated interscholastic activity:
(i)
A student who has undergone or is undergoing a gender transition shall notify the athletic association of the student's transition and the need for the board's eligibility approval as described in subsection (b) of this section;
(ii)
The athletic association shall notify the board of a student for whom an eligibility determination of the board is required due to the sex designation on the student's birth certificate not corresponding with the gender
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designation of the gender
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designated interscholastic activity in which the student seeks to participate or the student's notice of a gender transition under paragraph (a)(ii) of this section;
(iii)
The board shall notify the student described in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this subsection regarding the process for determining the student's eligibility for the activity under this section.
(e)
The board shall:
(i)
Schedule a closed meeting to consider a student's eligibility to be held within thirty (30) days after the day on which the board receives the notification described in subsection (d) of this section; and
(ii)
Notify the relevant athletic association and the student's parents or legal guardians of the scheduled meeting.
(f)
Before the meeting described in subsection (e) of this section:
(i)
The student for whom the board has scheduled the meeting or the student's parent or guardian may submit to the board any information the student wishes to disclose to the board that may be relevant to the board's eligibility determination, including information regarding:
(A)
The gender
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designated interscholastic activities for which the student seeks eligibility;
(B)
The gender
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designated interscholastic activities in which the student has previously participated; and
(C)
The student's physical characteristics or medical treatments that support the student's eligibility for the specific gender
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designated interscholastic activity.
(ii)
The board may request additional evidence from the student that is:
(A)
Limited to the extent possible to protect the student's privacy; and
(B)
Only directly relevant to the board's eligibility determination.
(iii)
The board may offer the student a voucher to cover the cost of a diagnostic assessment if the board makes a request for medical information under paragraph (ii) of this subsection for which the student's insurance does not provide coverage or reimbursement for the diagnostic that:
(A)
Would provide the requested information; and
(B)
Is not free or otherwise readily available without additional expense to the student.
(g)
During the meeting described in subsection (e) of this section:
(i)
Only the following persons may be present or participate electronically:
(A)
The student for whom the board is meeting to make an eligibility determination;
(B)
The student's parents or guardians;
(C)
The members and necessary staff of the board; and
(D)
Any medical professionals or other witnesses the student chooses to include to support the student's eligibility.
(ii)
Attendees may participate in person or electronically;
(iii)
The board shall:
(A)
Hear the information that supports the student's eligibility;
(B)
Render the board's eligibility determination in accordance with subsection (h) of this section or request additional information and schedule an additional board meeting to be held within thirty (30) days of the meeting and in accordance with this subsection to discuss the additional information and render the board's eligibility determination.
(h)
In making an eligibility determination, the board, after considering whether the student's assertion of a gender identity is consistent with the statutory definition of gender identity, including the implications for the student's mental health of participating in the gender
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designated interscholastic activity, shall:
(i)
Make a determination regarding whether, when measured against the eligibility criteria established by rule of the commission, granting the student's eligibility would:
(A)
Present a substantial safety risk to the student or others that is significantly greater than the inherent risks of the given activity; or
(B)
Likely give the student a material competitive advantage when compared to students of the same age competing in the relevant gender
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designated activity, including consideration of the student's previous history of participation in gender
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designated interscholastic activities.
(ii)
Record the board's decision and rationale in writing and provide the written decision to the student within thirty (30) days after the day on which the board renders an eligibility decision.
(j)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in subsections (h) and (k) of this section, the board shall not disclose:
(i)
The name of a student whose eligibility the board will consider, is considering, or has considered;
(ii)
The board's determination regarding a student's eligibility.
(k)
The board shall disclose the board's determination of a student's eligibility for a given gender
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designated interscholastic activity to the relevant athletic association, only for the purpose of confirming whether the student is eligible for the interscholastic activity.
(m)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no athletic association shall disclose the information described in paragraphs (j)(i) and (ii) of this section.
(n)
Nothing in subsections (k) or (m) of this section prohibits an athletic association from affirming that a student is eligible if the eligibility of a student is questioned.
Section 2.
W.S. 16
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4
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405(a) by creating a new paragraph (xiii) and 21
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2
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304(a) by creating a new paragraph (viii) are amended to read:
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4
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405.
Executive sessions.
(a)
A governing body of an agency may hold executive sessions not open to the public:
(xiii)
To consider an individual student's eligibility to participate in an interscholastic activity, including the state board of education's determinative vote on the student's eligibility, pursuant to W.S. 21
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25
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204, if that section is in effect pursuant to W.S. 21
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25
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202.
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2
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304.
Duties of the state board of education.
(a)
The state board of education shall:
(viii)
Determine a student's eligibility for interscholastic activities pursuant to article 2, chapter 25 of title 21 if that article is in effect pursuant to W.S. 21
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25
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202.
Section 3
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This act is effective July 1, 2023.
(END)
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HB0187