The Kentucky Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 83, which states that K-12 student-athletes must play on teams based on their biological sex, not the sex they identify with.
Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, sponsored the bill, which passed on Feb. 10. He stated to the committee that although the Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) already has regulations regarding sexual and gender identification in athletics, he believes “there are flaws in this regulation that could ultimately lead to a female high school athlete competing unfairly with a biological male.”
Mills said that boys have athletic advantages in cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and natural agility. “Male athletes still have advantages even after testosterone suppression,” Mills told the committee. “Hormone therapy in males after puberty does not substantially eliminate the male athletic advantage.”
David Walls, executive director of the Christian non-profit organization Family Foundation, added that “allowing males to compete in women’s sports destroys fair competition in women’s athletic opportunities.”
James Craig, a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education, testified in opposition to the bill. “We don’t know how many transgender students are in our schools, so we don’t know how many are going to be potentially adversely affected by this bill,” Craig told the committee. “But we do know the importance of athletic participation for those students.”
“Like all kids, transgender kids simply want to go to school, play with their friends, and feel included,” Chris Hartman, director of anti-discrimination organization the Fairness Campaign, told the committee.
The bill passed nine to three and is now awaiting Senate approval.
