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Pennsylvania

State by State · Penn swimmers’ lawsuit

Three former University of Pennsylvania swimmers sued over the 2021–22 season, when a male swimmer competed on Penn’s women’s team and used their locker room. The case is in federal court in Massachusetts.

The law in Pennsylvania

No state law

Pennsylvania has no law protecting girls' sports. The governor vetoed one in 2022, and the Senate passed another in 2025 that the House has never voted on. The state athletic association now leaves each school to decide a student's sex.

Past attempts

  • 2022: HB 972 passed the House 115–84 (Apr 12) and the Senate 30–20 (June 29). Gov. Wolf vetoed it July 8, 2022 (Veto No. 7) (PA General Assembly, HB 972).
  • 2025–26: SB 9 passed the Senate 32–18 (May 6, 2025) and has stalled in House committees (SB 9). A 2025 House discharge effort (HR 281) failed (PA House GOP).
The law in detail, with sources

The law

No state law. SB 9, the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” passed the Senate 32–18 on May 6, 2025. The House has never voted on it: it has been moved between committees seven times and has sat in House Health since July 1, 2026 (PA General Assembly, SB 9). The House companion bills HB 158 and HB 1849 are also stuck in committee (PA House GOP, Sept 2, 2026).

Notes

In February 2025, after the federal executive order, the PIAA removed its transgender policy, replaced “gender” with “sex,” and told schools to consult their lawyers about complying with the order. Where a student’s sex is “questioned or uncertain,” the PIAA accepts the school’s decision (WHYY; TribLive). The result is school-by-school. Some Philadelphia-area schools kept males on girls’ teams (LGBTQ Nation, Feb 2025). In September 2026, 12 advocacy groups asked the PIAA to “clarify” its policy to protect gender-identity participation under the state Human Relations Act and Equal Rights Amendment. We found no report that the PIAA responded (QBurgh, Sept 10, 2026).

What ICONS has done in Pennsylvania

In the courts and statehouses

First page of the document: Penn swimmers sue the Ivy League, Harvard, Penn and the NCAA

February 4, 2025 · U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts

Ivy, Harvard dismissed; rest paused

Penn swimmers sue the Ivy League, Harvard, Penn and the NCAA

Three former University of Pennsylvania swimmers sued over Title IX violations during the 2021–22 season, when a male swimmer competed on Penn’s women’s team and used the women’s locker room. In July 2025 the court dismissed the Ivy League and Harvard and paused the claims against Penn and the NCAA until Gaines v. NCAA is resolved. In October 2026 the NCAA asked the court to lift the pause and dismiss.

“Ivy League women swimmers became captive and collateral damage to the Ivy League’s illegal social science experiment.” From the complaint, p. 3

Outcome: The court dismissed the Ivy League (July 21, 2025) and Harvard (July 29, 2025) and stayed the claims against Penn and the NCAA under the first-to-file rule pending Gaines v. NCAA. Source

The lawsuit · Read the complaint (PDF) · Court docket · Press release

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