State by State · Law protects girls’ sports in K-12 and colleges
Kentucky law, passed in 2022 over the governor's veto, keeps girls' teams in grades 6–12 and women's college teams for females, using the original birth certificate.
The law in Kentucky
Law in force · Covers K-12 and colleges
Past attempts
SB 83 vetoed Apr. 6, 2022, overridden Apr. 13, 2022 (bill record).
The law in detail, with sources
The law
SB 83, “Fairness in Womens’ Sports Act” (2022). Vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear Apr. 6, 2022; overridden Apr. 13, 2022 (Senate 29–8, House 72–23); Acts ch. 198 (bill record). Amends KRS 156.070 and creates a new section of KRS ch. 164 (bill text). Effective July 14, 2022 (Wikipedia).
Who it covers
Grades 6–12 at KHSAA member schools (public and private members), and intercollegiate and intramural teams at public colleges and private colleges in a national athletic association (bill text).
Notes
Girls’ teams “shall not be open to members of the male sex.” Sex is set by the original, unedited birth certificate or a sworn affidavit from the physician (or PA, APRN, chiropractor) who did the sports physical. No agency, district or athletic body may investigate or punish a school or college for keeping female teams (bill text). No court ruling against the law found.
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