Tuesday night, North Dakota became the most recent state to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in female sporting teams from kindergarten through college.
The Republican governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum, signed the new regulations into law less than a week after the Biden administration intervened in the contentious discussion around transgender sports. Schools might prohibit some transgender athletes from playing on sports teams that correspond to their gender identity under the government’s proposed rule change, but they couldn’t impose a general ban.
If and when Mr. Biden’s suggested amendment is implemented, North Dakota legislation and other similar laws may come into conflict with federal restrictions. Legal authorities claim that the federal regulation would supersede state legislation.
When questioned about laws like North Dakota’s, the federal Department of Education warned that its rule change was still a proposal and required public comment. However, it was emphasized that “all government-funded educational programs and activities must comply with Title IX and the Department’s regulations implementing Title IX.”
Though the specifics of the bans vary from place to place, at least 19 other states, mostly in conservative parts of the country, ban transgender girls or women from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a liberal think tank , which depicts laws.
