State by State · No law protecting girls’ sports
Illinois has no law protecting girls' sports. The state high school association, citing state civil-rights law, lets males who identify as girls play on girls' teams case by case.
The law in Illinois
State policy allows males on girls' teams
The law in detail, with sources
The law
None. No state law limits girls’ teams to females.
Notes
The Illinois High School Association lets students compete consistent with gender identity, on a case-by-case eligibility ruling for IHSA state-series events; regular-season participation is left to member schools (Yahoo/Capitol News Illinois; KFVS12, Apr. 18, 2025). In an April 2025 letter to lawmakers, the IHSA said it would keep the policy despite the February 2025 federal executive order, because the Illinois Attorney General and Department of Human Rights say the Illinois Human Rights Act “requires that transgender athletes be permitted to participate” by gender identity (KFVS12; IHSA announcement). Policy text (copy): IHSA policy PDF via Transathlete. No federal lawsuit against Illinois confirmed.
Athletes in ICONS-backed lawsuits
- Kaitlynn Wheeler, swimming, from Illinois · Gaines v. NCAA