Four Vermont House Republicans have introduced a bill that would bar transgender students from participating in school athletic programs for girls.
The short form billintroduced last week “proposes to prohibit individuals that were assigned the sex of male at birth from participating in an elementary, secondary, or postsecondary school athletic program or activity that is designated for girls or women.”
In March the Mid-Vermont Christian School forfeited a game with another school with a transgender player. The Vermont Principals Association subsequently revoked the school’s eligibility to participate in sporting activities because it had violated discrimination and gender policies.
Clarendon Republican Art Peterson, the bill sponsor, says a number of his constituents expressed concerns, motivating him to introduce the bill.
“I’ve been concerned about this for a while. I just don’t think that we need biological males competing with girls and women in sports. So that was the impetus.”
Peterson says he doesn’t expect the short form bill to pass before the end of the session, but hopes it could be added to another bill.
“The only thing it really does do is protect the safety and competitiveness of girl’s athletics. What it doesn’t do is ban transgender athletes from competing. Because a transgender girl can compete on boys’ teams everywhere. There’s no reason why that can’t happen. So I think people misunderstand what this does.”
Outright Vermont is an organization that supports the LGBTQIA community. Executive Director Dana Kaplan notes that nationally there have been over 400 bills in state legislatures targeting transgender rights and H.513 proves Vermont is not immune to attacks against a vulnerable community.
“This bill contributes to a culture of bullying and gender policing that makes schools less safe for all young people. But in the state of Vermont gender identity, perceived or actual, is a protected category. And so to say that you cannot participate in sports according to your affirmed gender is simply illegal. So from that perspective I don’t have concern about the traction of this bill.”
Asked about the bill shortly after its introduction last Friday, Republican Governor Phil Scott said kids should just be allowed to play.
“I go back to when I played sports when I was a kid. I can’t tell you how many games we won, how many games we lost, what the scores were. We just played baseball and basketball and hockey. And I would ask that we take that segment of the population and just let them play. Let them be who they are and let them play. Now on a higher level, professional, collegiate and so forth, then there probably should be some parameters. But let’s let the kids be kids.”
Representative Peterson says the governor is short-sighted.
“He hasn’t talked to the folks I’ve talked to who have some real safety concerns. Another thing folks need to think about because of student numbers young freshmen, even eighth graders, are being thrown into the mix in athletics at the varsity level. And if you look at a full-grown senior in high school who is a transgender girl or female playing in a sport against an eighth grader potentially I don’t think that’s what we want to have and I don’t think most people want that type of thing to happen because there’s a real competitive disadvantage and can be a real safety issue.”
The bill is being reviewed in the House Education Committee, but will likely meet resistance in the Democratic-led chamber.
