Nebraska lawmakers have passed a bill requiring athletes to participate in sports based on their biological sex. The bill now heads to Governor Jim Pillen’s (R) desk.
“The Stand With Women Act, LB89, just advanced to my desk,” Pillen said in a statement. “It achieves a key goal: protecting girls and women’s sports. It’s just common sense that girls shouldn’t have to compete against biological boys. This legislative win will lead to many more victories for Nebraska’s female athletes, as we ensure a level and fair playing field for all girls who compete. I look forward to signing it into law.”
According to the legislation, “Because of the physical differences between males and females, having separate athletic teams based on the sex of the athlete reduces the chance of injury to female athletes, promotes equality between the sexes, provides opportunities for female athletes to compete against their female peers rather than against male athletes, and allows female athletes to compete on a fair playing field for scholarships and other athletic accomplishments.”
“For an interscholastic athletic team or sport sponsored by a public school, a private school whose students or teams compete against a public school in an interscholastic sport, or a private school that is a member of an athletic association, a team or sport designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to a male student,” the bill adds.
The legislation does permit co-ed athletics if the activity is explicitly designated as such.
A student participating in an interscholastic athletic team or sport must “provide to such school or postsecondary educational institution confirmation of such student’s sex on a document signed by a doctor or signed under the authority of a doctor.”
