Ihsaa Policy Already Addresses Transgender Athletes. What Else Will The New Indiana Law Do?
Indiana lawmakers are still working on a bill that would make it illegal for transgender girls to play on girls sports team. It is one of a number of bills filed just at start of 2022 legislative session that would put limits on transgender people in Indiana.
Last year, dozens of other state also tried to make it illegal for transgender girls to play sports for girls, and a similar bill in Texas just went into effect.
Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, who wrote the bill, said it was meant to protect girls’ sports from transgender girls, who might have a biological advantage that makes it harder for cisgender girls to play & compete on an even playing field.
“This bill’s goal is to keep girls’ sports competitions fair, both now & in the future,” Davis said.
What Is In HB 1041 In Indiana?
The bill was signed into rule on May 24 and will take effect on July 1. House Bill 1041 is going to:
Make it so that schools and sports organizations have to say whether a team or sport is for boys, girls, or both.
Students who were born male cannot be on girls’ sports teams or play on girls’ sports teams.
Requires schools to “establish & maintain a grievance procedure” or “preserve a grievance & protest procedure” that was set up before July 1, 2022.
Sets up a “civil action if these provisions are broken.”
It says that schools and athletic organizations aren’t responsible in “civil, administrative, disciplinary, & criminal actions” for following these rules.
What Do People Who Are Against HB1041 Say?
Lawmakers heard from people who don’t agree with the bill and think that transgender kids could have the same chances as their peers.
“It would hurt children in Indiana and make it harder for transgender youth, who are already at a higher risk of depression & other serious mental health problems,” said Lauren Bell, a paediatrician speaking on behalf of Indiana chapter of t American Academy of Pediatrics.
Beth & Nathaniel Clawson, who live in Bloomington and have a transgender daughter, worry that she won’t get to learn life lessons and make friends through sports.
Beth said, “My daughter’s mental health and well-being are much more essential than your child’s medal or record.”
More: A bill that would keep a transgender girl from playing girls’ sports is fought over by her family in Bloomington.
During a meeting of Senate’s education committee in early February, students and parents gathered at the statehouse. The state’s public access counsellor says that the committee chair, Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, broke Indiana’s Open Door Law during which meeting.
Raatz told the people in the chamber that the meeting would not be recorded. “All meeting of the governing bodies of government agencies might be open at all times so that members of the public can watch and record them,” says Indiana’s Open Door Law.
Where Does HB 1041 Stand?
House Bill 1041 was passed by the House Education Committee at the end of January. On Jan. 27, the bill passed in the house mostly along party lines.
On February 16, HB 1041 was approved by a key committee, which means it’s on its ways to becoming a law.
Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee voted 8-3 to pass House Bill 1041 along party lines. It moves up next to the floor of the Senate. If the Senate passes the bill without changing it, it could go to Governor Eric Holcomb, who hasn’t said anything yet.
