State by State · Law protects girls’ sports in K-12 and colleges
Indiana law, passed in 2022 over the governor's veto, keeps girls' school sports teams for females in public schools and private schools that play against them. A 2025 law extended the protection to college women's sports.
The law in Indiana
Law in force · Covers K-12 and colleges
Past attempts
HEA 1041 vetoed Mar. 21, 2022, overridden May 24, 2022 (House 67–28) (Wikipedia; AP).
The law in detail, with sources
The law
HEA 1041 (2022). Vetoed by Gov. Eric Holcomb Mar. 21, 2022; veto overridden May 24, 2022; effective July 1, 2022 (bill page; veto letter, archived; AP on override; NYT). Codified at IC 20-33-13 (IC 20-33-13-4). In 2025 a second HEA 1041 (Rep. Michelle Davis) extended the rule to college sports; Gov. Mike Braun signed it in spring 2025 and held a ceremonial signing July 8, 2025; it took effect July 1, 2025 (Indiana House Republicans; Indiana Senate Republicans).
Who it covers
K-12: teams of public schools that compete against other schools, nonpublic schools that voluntarily compete against public schools, and teams sanctioned by a high school athletic association (IC 20-33-13-1). College (since July 1, 2025): female sports at “Indiana colleges and universities” (Indiana Senate Republicans).
Notes
Teams must be designated male, female or coed, and “a male, based on a student’s biological sex at birth in accordance with the student’s genetics and reproductive biology, may not participate” on a girls’ team (IC 20-33-13-4). The ACLU of Indiana sued minutes after the override; that suit was dropped in January 2023 (IndyStar; Wikipedia). The 2025 college law lets a harmed student sue the school that allowed the violation (Indiana Senate Republicans).
What ICONS has done in Indiana
- March 4, 2025 · Gov. Mike Braun honored Elle Patterson, a plaintiff in the ICONS-backed Mountain West lawsuit, before signing an executive order protecting women’s sports
- February 13, 2025 · Bill Bock, the attorney for the female athletes suing the NCAA, testified in Indiana for a bill to keep women’s college sports for female athletes
In the courts and statehouses
September 3, 2024 · U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Rule vacated; appeal dismissed
Amicus brief in Tennessee v. Cardona (2024 Title IX rule)
ICONS supported the states and intervenors who won a ruling blocking the 2024 federal Title IX rule, and asked the court to affirm.
“It is a misguided, objectifying, and patently discriminatory trope that girls are undeserving of protection until they reach an elite level in sport.” From the brief, p. 2
Outcome: The district court vacated the 2024 Title IX rule on Jan. 9, 2025, so the Sixth Circuit dismissed the government's appeal for lack of jurisdiction on March 18, 2025. Source
Athletes in ICONS-backed lawsuits
- Ellie Eades, tennis, from Indiana · Gaines v. NCAA
- Grace Estabrook, swimming, University of Pennsylvania, from Indiana · Penn swimmers v. Ivy League
- Elle Patterson, volleyball, IU Indianapolis · Slusser v. Mountain West