Texas Gov Abbott signs bill making student athletes play on teams corresponding to biological sex

The recently signed bill will require student athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond to the sex listed on their original birth certificate

By Sophie Mann

Published: October 27, 2021 10:56am

Updated: October 27, 2021 2:03pm

Transgender student athletes in Texas will be prohibited from playing on teams that do not correspond with their biological sex, according to a law signed by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.

Texas House Bill 25 requires students athletes who compete in interscholastic competition to play on teams that align with the sex listed on their birth certificates from at or near their time of birth. Abbott sign the law Monday. It will go into effect on Jan. 18.

Current rules from the University Interscholastic League (UIL) state a student's gender is determined by their birth certificate, but the organization accepts legally modified certificate, which some have had changed to align with their gender identity as a trans individual.

The bill was written by GOP state Rep Valoree Swanson, who says she is "overjoyed" by the governor's decision to sign it into law.

"It's so very, very important that we protect everything that women have gained in the last 50 years," Swanson said during a committee hearing. She has argued that the goal of the bill is to ensure fair competition in girls' sports and uphold Title IX.