SC bill banning trans girls from women’s sports takes first steps in the House

A bill that would effectively ban transgender girls from participating in high school and middle school women’s sports took its first steps in the South Carolina House Wednesday.

The bill was approved by a panel of lawmakers in a House Judiciary subcommittee by a vote of three to one after hearing testimony from dozens of residents.

Lawmakers voted to move the bill forward after S.C. Superintendent Molly Spearman and other critics of the legislation called on lawmakers to vote against the initiative.

“My responsibility as state superintendent is to make sure every child feels protected when they are in school and when they’re on the athletic field,” Spearman said. “I believe this bill does damage to that.”

“This is not something we need to legislate in Columbia,” Spearman said.

The bill, H. 3477, called the “Save women’s sports act,” would require public middle schools and high schools to designate interscholastic or intramural teams as “men’s,” “women’s” or “co-ed” leagues. The bill would then only allow those born biologically female to play in women’s sports. It would not, however, bar trans boys and men from competing in men’s sports. The rule would also apply to private schools that compete athletically against public schools.

Supporters of the bill, part of a nationwide push to pass similar legislation, say the state needs it to protect athletic opportunities for cisgendered women, who may be at an athletic disadvantage to those born male. Cisgender means a person’s gender identity matches the one they were assigned at birth.

But opponents — including several LGBTQ advocacy organizations and dozens of medical professionals — argue that the bill will cause harm to transgender youth by potentially outing them and denying them access to activities that are beneficial to their development.

A similar bill, S. 531, was introduced in the Senate, which is still in committee.

The initiative has the support of S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, who will sign the bill if it reaches his desk, Governor’s Office spokesman Brian Symmes told The State.

The bill would do away with a process already in place that allows transgender students to apply to play on teams that match their gender identity.

The South Carolina High School League allows students to apply for a waiver to participate on the team that matches their gender identity if it is different than their biological sex. The process to be considered eligible to participate in the gendered sport of their choosing is extensive.

First, trans students and their families must disclose the student’s gender identity to the school and then the school must decide whether or not to apply to the High School League for a waiver allowing them to play, according to the organization’s rules. Schools have the ability to reject a student’s request outright.

If the school decides to move forward with the process, they must then notify the High School League of the student athlete’s gender identity, and then they are required to turn in paperwork, including letters documenting the student’s gender identity and a note from a licensed health care professional. That documentation is then considered by a panel, who will make a recommendation about whether that student is eligible to participate on the gendered team of their choice. That panel makes a recommendation to the board about whether that person should be granted a waiver.

Since the High School League instituted this process in 2016, only four students — two trans girls and two trans boys — have asked the High School League for waivers, according to High School League Commissioner Jerome Singleton. Two students, both trans girls, have been granted waivers, he added.

The League hasn’t received a request for a waiver since 2018, Singleton said.

Spearman expressed approval of the process instituted by the High School League.

“The High School League has handled this situation,” Spearman said. “I believe they have done a beautiful job doing that.”

Speaking in support of the bill, Mitch Prosser, the vice president of Palmetto Family Council, argued that allowing trans women to play in women’s sports would strip cisgendered women of some opportunities in athletics.

“Science and common sense tell us that there are absolutely biological differences between male and females,” Prosser said, adding that allowing biological males to play sports with biological females would “uneven the playing field.”

S.C. Rep. Sylleste Davis, R-Berkeley, said the intention of the bill wasn’t to “marginalize” trans students.

“The general crux of the bill is protecting women, particularly women in sports,” Davis said.

But opponents say the bill could cause more feelings of distress among trans youth, who already face higher rates of depression and suicidal thoughts, opponents say.

More than 40 medical professionals, including medical doctors and students in South Carolina, signed a letter in opposition to the bill.

“Participation in athletics is a vital part of students’ well-being, including their physical, social, and emotional health; involvement in student sports provides young people with lessons about leadership, self-discipline, success, and failure,” the letter read. “Transgender students, like other students, deserve the same chances to learn teamwork, sportsmanship, leadership and self discipline, and to build a sense of belonging with their peers. When we tell transgender girls that they can’t play girls’ sports — or transgender boys that they can’t play boys’ sports — they miss out, and being excluded can lead to harmful outcomes with regard to social and emotional well being.”

Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network CEO Ann Warner testified Wednesday that the bill reinforces harmful stereotypes and “promotes a climate of hatred.”

“Transgender women and girls are women and girls,” Warner said.

Warner called concerns about trans students taking opportunities away from women “a made up problem.”

“Excluding students athletes from sports is simply not one of those issues that South Carolinians actually care about,” Warner said.

Vicki Wringer, Director for South Carolina Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, pointed out that a similar piece of legislation has already been blocked in court.

Last year, Idaho’s legislation was blocked in court by a federal judge.

“The State has not identified a legitimate interest served by the Act that the preexisting rules in Idaho did not already address, other than an invalid interest of excluding transgender women and girls from women’s sports entirely, regardless of their physiological characteristics,” Judge David Nye wrote in his opinion.

“Why must we continue to pursue legislation that we know will result in court challenges, costing the state money we know we don’t have?” Wringer asked South Carolina lawmakers.

South Carolina is the latest state to consider legislation that would ban trans girls from women’s sports.

The Tennessee Senate passed a bill Monday banning transgender students in middle and high school from competing on sports teams that conform with their gender identity. Wisconsin’s Legislature is considering a bill that would ban trans individuals from participating in women’s sports from kindergarten through college. North Dakota’s House passed a bill in February that would ban trans athletes from playing on high school women’s teams.