The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: SB 2012
INTRODUCER: Senator Stargel
SUBJECT: Promoting Equality of Athletic Opportunity
DATE: April 12, 2021 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Sagues Bouck ED Favorable
2. Smith Brown HP Favorable
3. Sagues Phelps RC Pre-meeting
I. Summary:
SB 2012 creates the Promoting Equality of Athletic Opportunity Act with the intent of providing
female athletes opportunities to demonstrate their strength, skills, and athletic abilities and
enabling them to realize the long-term benefits that result from participating and competing in
athletic endeavors. Specifically, the bill:
Requires interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club athletic teams that are sponsored
by, or that compete against, a public school or public postsecondary institution to be
designated as male, female, or coed.
Prohibits athletic teams designated for females to be open to students of the male sex.
Establishes that persons who transition from male to female are eligible to compete in the
female category if the student has declared a female gender identity to her school or
institution and demonstrates a total testosterone level in serum below 10 nmol/L for at least
12 months before her first competition and throughout the period of desired eligibility.
The bill requires the Board of Governors to adopt regulations and the State Board of Education
to adopt rules regarding the receipt and timely resolution of disputes by schools and institutions
relating to provisions in the bill.
The bill provides private causes of action for injunctive relief, damages, and any other relief
available under law for students, schools, and public postsecondary institutions harmed by a
violation of the bill’s provisions. All such civil actions must be initiated within two years after
the alleged harm occurred.
The impact of state revenues or expenditures is indeterminate. See Section V.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2021.
BILL: SB 2012 Page 2
II. Present Situation:
Athletic Programs
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) indicates that middle and high school
interscholastic athletic programs play a vital role in the education of students who participate in
them.1 Through their participation in interscholastic athletics, students are provided character-
building opportunities to demonstrate honesty, integrity, respect, caring, cooperation,
trustworthiness, leadership, tolerance, and personal responsibility. These fundamental values
enable participants to realize and fulfill their potential as students, athletes, individuals, and
citizens.2
Athletics programs are widely accepted as integral parts of the college experience as well.3 The
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) indicates that the benefits of athletics
participation include many positive effects on physical, social, and emotional well-being. Playing
sports can teach student-athletes important lessons about self-discipline, teamwork, success, and
failure and allow student athletes to experience the joy and shared excitement that being a
member of a sports team can bring.4
Title IX and Sex Discrimination
Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972.5 This
law protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that
receive federal financial assistance. Title IX states that:6
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be
denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Athletic programs are considered educational programs and activities.7 Title IX gives women
athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal
funds, from elementary schools to colleges and universities. While there are few private
elementary schools, middle schools, or high schools that receive federal funds, almost all
colleges and universities, private and public, receive such funding.8
1
Florida High School Athletic Association, Bylaws of the Florida High School Athletic Association, Inc. (2020-2021) (2020),
at 6, available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/fhsaa.org/documents/2020/10/1/2021_handbook_website_1001.pdf (last visited
Mar. 26, 2021).
2
Id.
3
National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes (2011), available at
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
4
Id.
5
Harvard University, What is Title IX, available at https://titleix.harvard.edu/what-title-ix (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
6
U.S. Department of Education, Title IX and Sex Discrimination, available at
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html#:~:text=No%20person%20in%20the%20United%20States%20s
hall,%20on,education%20program%20or%20activity%20receiving%20Federal%20financial%20assistance (last visited Mar.
26, 2021).
7
Women’s Sports Foundation, What is Title IX, available at https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/advocacy/what-is-
title-ix/ (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
8
Id.
BILL: SB 2012 Page 3
Approximately 16,500 local school districts, 7,000 postsecondary institutions, as well as charter
schools, for-profit schools, libraries, and museums are receiving federal financial assistance that
requires them to observe Title IX regulations. Also included are vocational rehabilitation
agencies and education agencies of 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories and
possessions of the United States.9
Title IX regulations require institutions that receive federal education funds to provide equal
opportunities in athletics for both sexes.10 Whether the selection of sports and levels of
competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of members of both sexes is
considered when determining whether an institution has provided equal opportunities for both
sexes.11 With respect to scholarships, Title IX regulations require educational institutions that
award athletic scholarships or grants-in-aid to provide reasonable opportunities for such awards
for members of each sex in proportion to the number of students of each sex participating in
interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics.12
Title IX regulations also authorize educational institutions to sponsor separate athletics teams for
members of each sex.13
According to the NCAA, there are three areas where Title IX applies to athletics. Title IX: 14
Requires institutions to offer both sexes an equal opportunity to play but does not require
both sexes to be offered identical sports;
Requires that female and male student-athletes receive athletics scholarship dollars
proportional to their participation; and
Requires equal treatment of female and male athletes in the following: provision of
equipment and supplies; scheduling of games and practice times; travel and daily allowance
and per diem; access to tutoring; coaching; locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities;
medical and training facilities and services; housing and dining facilities and services;
publicity and promotions; support services; and recruitment of student-athletes.15
9
U.S. Department of Education, Title IX and Sex Discrimination, available at
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
10
See U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, Athletics, available at
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/frontpage/pro-students/issues/sex-issue04.html (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
11
34 C.F.R. s 106.41(c).
12
34 C.F.R. s 106.37(c).
13
34 C.F.R. s 106.41(c).
14
NCAA, Title IX Frequently Asked Questions, available at https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/inclusion/title-ix-
frequently-asked-questions#how (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
15
Id.
BILL: SB 2012 Page 4
Transgender Participation in Athletic Programs
The number of students who identify as transgender16 has steadily increased during the last
decade. One estimate indicates that approximately 150,000 students 13 to 17 years of age
identify as transgender in the United States.17
Federal Legislation
Currently, there is no federal law governing transgender participation in sports.18 However, the
U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that discrimination in employment based on gender identity is
illegal.19 In addition, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed that a Florida school district’s
policy barring a transgender male student from the boys’ restroom did not comport with the
Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and Title IX’s prohibition of sex discrimination.20
Currently, 25 states are proposing legislation related to transgender student athletics.21 Both the
NCAA and the FHSAA have issued guidance for transgender participation in athletic programs.
NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student Athletes
Providing equal opportunities in all aspects of school programming is a core value in education.
According to the NCAA, college athletic programs, as integral parts of higher educational
institutions, are responsible and accountable for reflecting the goals and values of the educational
institutions of which they are a part.22
The NCAA recommends that policies governing the participation of transgender student-athletes
be informed by the following principles and be included in the institution’s transgender student-
athlete policy statement:23
Participation in intercollegiate athletics is a valuable part of the education experience for all
students.
Transgender student-athletes should have equal opportunity to participate in sports.
The integrity of women’s sports should be preserved.
Policies governing sports should be based on sound medical knowledge and scientific
validity.
16
Transathlete.com, Trans Terminology, https://www.transathlete.com/starthere (last visited Mar. 26, 2021). NCAA, NCAA
Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes (2011), available at
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
17
UCLA School of Law, Williams Institute, LGBT FAQs, https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/quick-facts/lgbt-faqs/ (last
visited Mar. 26, 2021).
18
Boston College Journal of Law and Social Justice, Hurdling Gender Identity discrimination: The Implications of State
Participation Policies on Transgender Youth Athletes Ability to Thrive (2017), available at
https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1108&context=jlsj (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
19
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020).
20
Adams by & through Kasper v. Sch. Bd. of St. Johns County, 968 F.3d 1286 (11th Cir. 2020).
21
The New York Times, How Some States Are Moving to Restrict Transgender Women in Sports, available at
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/sports/transgender-athletes-bills.html (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
22
NCAA, NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes (2011), at 6, available at
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
23
Id at 10.
BILL: SB 2012 Page 5
Policies governing sports should be objective, workable, and practicable and should also be
written, available, and equitably enforced.
Policies governing the participation of transgender students in sports should be fair in light of
the tremendous variation among individuals in strength, size, musculature, and ability.
The legitimate privacy interests of all student-athletes should be protected.
The medical privacy of transgender students should be preserved.
Athletics administrators, staff, parents of athletes, and student-athletes should have access to
sound and effective educational resources and training related to the participation of
transgender and gender-variant24 students in athletics.
Policies governing the participation of transgender students in athletics should comply with
state and federal laws protecting students from discrimination based on sex, disability, and
gender identity25 and expression.
The NCAA has published policies to clarify participation of transgender student-athletes
undergoing hormonal treatment for gender transition:26
A transgender male, a female transitioning to a male, student-athlete who has received a
medical exception for treatment with testosterone27 for diagnosed Gender Identity Disorder
or gender dysphoria28 and/or Transsexualism,29 for purposes of NCAA competition, may
compete on a men’s team but is no longer eligible to compete on a women’s team without
changing that team status to a mixed team.30
A transgender female, a male transitioning to a female, student-athlete being treated with
testosterone suppression medication for Gender Identity Disorder or gender dysphoria and/or
Transsexualism, for the purposes of NCAA competition, may continue to compete on a
men’s team but may not compete on a women’s team without changing it to a mixed team
status until completing one calendar year of testosterone suppression treatment.
24
Gender-variant refers to gender nonconforming. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gender variance, available at
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gender%20variance (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
25
Gender Identity is defined as a person's internal sense of being male, female, some comb ination of male and female, or
neither male nor female. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gender identity, available at https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/gender%20identity (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
26
NCAA, NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes (2011), at 13, available at
https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
27
Testosterone is defined as a hormone that is hydroxy steroid ketone C 19H28O2 produced especially by the testes or made
synthetically and that is responsible for inducing and maintaining male secondary sex characters. Merriam -Webster
Dictionary, testosterone, available at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/testosterone (last visited Mar. 26,
2021).
28
Gender Identity Disorder and gender dysphoria are defined as a distressed state arising from conflict between a person's
gender identity and the sex the person has or was identified as having at birth. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gender
dysphoria, available at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gender%20dysphoria (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
Merriam-Webster Dictionary, gender identity disorder, available at https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/gender%20identity%20disorder (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
29
Transsexual is defined as of, relating to, or being a person whose gender identity is opposite the sex the person had or
was identified as having at birth. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, transsexual, available at https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/transsexualism (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
30
A mixed team is a varsity intercollegiate sports team on which at least home individual of each gender competes. A mixed
team must be counted as one team. A male participating in competition on a female team makes the team a mixed team. Such
a team is ineligible for a women’s NCAA championship but is eligible for a men’s NCAA championship. A female on a
men’s team is eligible for a men’s NCAA championship. NCAA, NCAA Inclusion of Transgender Student-Athletes (2011), at
12, available at https://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Transgender_Handbook_2011_Final.pdf (last visited Mar. 26, 2021).
BILL: SB 2012 Page 6
Any transgender student-athlete who is not taking hormone treatment related to gender
transition may participate in sex-separated sports activities in accordance with his or her
assigned birth gender.
A transgender male student-athlete who is not taking testosterone related to gender transition
may participate on a men’s or women’