In Debate

A ban on transgender student-athletes playing on girls and women’s sports teams in Ohio…clears a House education panel along partisan lines…the latest attempt at such a measure first introduced by Republican lawmakers in 2021. The proposal would require K-12 schools as well as universities to designate “separate teams” for male and female sexes, but explicitly bans transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports while leaving the door open for transgender athletes to play on male or co-ed teams. At least 20 other states have imposed similar bans at the K-12 or collegiate level. The Ohio bill nearly made it through both the House and Senate last fall, but died after being tacked onto an education overhaul bill that had mixed reviews among GOP legislators.