88(R) SB 15 - Enrolled version - Bill Text
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
 
relating to requiring public institution of higher education
 
students who compete in intercollegiate athletic competitions to
 
compete based on biological sex.
 
             BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 
             SECTION  1.    This Act may be cited as the Save Women's Sports
 
Act.
 
             SECTION  2.    Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
 
amended by adding Section 51.980 to read as follows:
 
             Sec.   51.980.     INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC COMPETITION BASED ON
 
BIOLOGICAL SEX. (a) In this section:
 
                         (1)     "Athletic competition"   means any athletic display
 
between teams or individuals, such as a contest, exhibition,
 
performance, or sport.
 
                         (2)     "Institution of higher education"   has the meaning
 
assigned by Section 61.003.
 
             (b)     Except as provided by Subsection (c), an
 
intercollegiate athletic team sponsored or authorized by an
 
institution of higher education may not allow:
 
                         (1)     a student to compete on the team in an
 
intercollegiate athletic competition sponsored or authorized by
 
the institution that is designated for the biological sex opposite
 
to the student's biological sex; or
 
                         (2)     a male student to compete on the team in a
 
mixed-sex intercollegiate athletic competition sponsored or
 
authorized by the institution in a position that is designated by
 
rule or procedure for female students.
 
             (c)     An intercollegiate athletic team described by
 
Subsection (b) may allow a female student to compete in an
 
intercollegiate athletic competition that is designated for male
 
students if a corresponding intercollegiate athletic competition
 
designated for female students is not offered or available.
 
             (d)    For purposes of this section:
 
                         (1)     a student's biological sex is the biological sex
 
correctly stated on:
 
                                     (A)     the student's official birth certificate, as
 
described by Subdivision (2); or
 
                                     (B)     if the student's official birth certificate
 
described by Paragraph (A) is unobtainable, another government
 
record that accurately states the student's biological sex; and
 
                         (2)     a statement of a student's biological sex on the
 
student's official birth certificate is considered to have
 
correctly stated the student's biological sex only if the statement
 
was:
 
                                     (A)     entered at or near the time of the student's
 
birth; or
 
                                     (B)     modified to correct a scrivener or clerical
 
error in the student's biological sex.
 
             (e)     An institution of higher education or an
 
intercollegiate athletic team described by Subsection (b) may not
 
retaliate against a person for reporting a violation of this
 
section.
 
             (f)     A person may bring a civil action for injunctive relief
 
against an institution of higher education or an intercollegiate
 
athletic team described by Subsection (b) that violates this
 
section.
 
             (g)     The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
 
adopt rules to implement this section. The rules must ensure
 
compliance with state and federal law regarding the confidentiality
 
of student medical information, including Chapter 181, Health and
 
Safety Code, and the Health Insurance Portability and
 
Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.).
 
             SECTION  3.    This Act applies to any intercollegiate athletic
 
competition sponsored or authorized by a public institution of
 
higher education that occurs on or after the effective date of this
 
Act.
 
             SECTION  4.    This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
Statutes affected: Introduced: () Engrossed: () House Committee Report: () Enrolled: ()