What will this bill do?

• An athletic team or sport sponsored by an institution must be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the intended participants:

  • Males, men, or boys

  • Females, women, or girls

  • Coed or mixed.

• An athletic team or sport designated for "females", "women", or "girls" may not be open to students of the male sex.

• Protects schools from a cause of action against any complaint, investigation, or any other adverse action for maintaining separate athletic teams or sports for students of the female sex.

• A student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity or who suffers direct or indirect harm as a result of a school knowingly violating this chapter will have a private cause of action for damages against the school.

• A student subject to retaliation or other adverse action by a school or athletic association or organization as a result of reporting a violation of this chapter to an employee or representative of the school or athletic association or organization, or to a state or federal agency has a private cause of action for damages against the school or athletic association or organization.

• A school that suffers direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of this chapter has a private cause of action for damages against the government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association or organization.

  
  Read the bill.
  See also House Bill 1489
  

Why is this bill needed?

• Male athletes are bigger, stronger, faster, possess better hand-eye coordination, and are more spatially aware than their female counterparts, all of which clearly give men the advantage.  Women are put in a considerably vulnerable position when made to compete against males, especially in a contact sport as women are more likely to be injured when colliding with a man verses another woman.  Males even have the advantage after one year of gender-affirming hormone therapy.  A study by the British Journal of Medicine showed that trans-women (males) still had a 9% faster average run speed after the one year period of testosterone suppression that is recommended by World Athletics for inclusion in women’s events. 

• Trans athletes are currently in the minority, but as transgenderism ideology becomes more mainstream, there will be more and more males who will want to compete in women’s sports.  If we do not pass legislation to protect women’s sports, the scholarships, awards, and opportunities that sports provide will once again be dominated by men and boys. Female athletes across the country are losing medals, records, and opportunities to males who are pretending to be women. It’s time to protect women and girls in North Dakota from being forced to compete against males.

What is the current status of the bill?

HB 1249 passed both chambers and was signed into law by Governor Burgum on April 11th, 2023.