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S 2790Extracurricular Activities

Education - Save Women’s Sports Act

This bill requires school sports teams be designated by biological sex and prohibits biological males from competing on female teams.

Introduced
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Education

Plain-English Summary

The "Save Women's Sports Act" mandates that all interscholastic and intramural athletic teams sponsored by public schools, private schools competing against public schools, and higher education institutions be designated based on biological sex. The bill creates three categories: males/men/boys, females/women/girls, and coed/mixed. It explicitly prohibits students of the male sex from participating on teams designated for females. Additionally, the bill establishes a private cause of action, allowing students or schools to sue for damages if they are deprived of athletic opportunities or face retaliation for reporting violations of this act.

For younger readers

This new law creates rules for sports teams in schools and colleges. It says that teams must be labeled as being for boys, girls, or coed (for everyone). The main rule is that boys are not allowed to join teams that are meant just for girls. The law says this is to keep sports fair. If a student loses a chance to play or gets in trouble for reporting that a school is breaking these rules, they can go to court to fix the problem and ask for money for the trouble caused.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Female student athletesTransgender studentsPublic schoolsPrivate schoolsColleges and Universities
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

Significant likelihood of challenge. Similar bans in other states have faced injunctions under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title IX. Courts often apply heightened scrutiny to laws distinguishing based on gender or transgender status. While the Supreme Court has not issued a definitive ruling on sports bans, the exclusion of a specific class of students from teams consistent with their gender identity creates substantial constitutional litigation risk regarding discrimination and due process.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Ensures that cisgender female athletes maintain specific spaces dedicated to their athletic development, which some argue aligns with feminist goals of preventing male dominance in physical competition.
  • Provides strong legal protections and a private cause of action for students who face retaliation from institutions, safeguarding the right to speak up against perceived injustices or administrative overreach.
  • Clarifies team designations to include "coed" or "mixed" options, potentially encouraging more inclusive mixed-gender sporting events where physical differences are less determinative of the outcome.
  • Marginalizes transgender youth by denying them the opportunity to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity, potentially increasing social isolation and mental health struggles among a vulnerable population.
  • Relies on biological definitions of sex that may necessitate invasive privacy violations, such as genetic or anatomical testing of minors, to enforce eligibility requirements if a student's sex is challenged.
  • Potentially conflicts with inclusive education principles and federal interpretations of Title IX regarding protection against discrimination based on gender identity, risking federal funding for schools.
For Conservatives
  • Protects the integrity of women’s sports by ensuring female athletes do not have to compete against biological males who possess inherent physiological advantages, preserving fair competition.
  • Codifies the recognition of biological sex differences in state law, aligning with traditional views on gender and physiology while rejecting fluid definitions of gender in the context of athletics.
  • Empowers families and students with the ability to sue schools that fail to protect separate athletic categories, increasing accountability for educational institutions that might otherwise prioritize social trends over fairness.
  • Creates a new private cause of action that encourages litigation against schools, potentially leading to increased taxpayer costs for legal defenses and damages, which conflicts with fiscal conservatism.
  • Places the burden of enforcement on local schools, potentially inviting federal intervention or loss of federal funding if the federal government enforces contrary Title IX interpretations.
  • Explicitly authorizes "coed" or "mixed" teams, which some strict traditionalists may view as an unnecessary blurring of the lines between the sexes in athletic environments.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 52 additions

SECTION 1. Legislative findings. The general assembly hereby finds and declares that:

(1) With respect to biological sex, one is either male or female.

(2) A person's sex is determined at fertilization and revealed at birth or, increasingly, in utero.

(3) Biological differences between males and females are determined genetically during embryonic development.

(4) Secondary sex characteristics that develop during puberty generate anatomical divergence beyond the reproductive system, leading to adult body types that are measurably different between sexes.

(5) There are inherent differences between men and women, and that these differences remain cause for celebration, but not for denigration of the members of either sex or for artificial constraints on an individual's opportunity.

(6) In studies of large cohorts of children from six (6) years old, boys typically scored higher than girls on cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and speed/agility, but lower on flexibility.

(7) Physiological differences between males and females relevant to sports performance include a larger body size with more skeletal-muscle mass, a lower percentage of body fat, and greater maximal delivery of anaerobic and aerobic energy.

(8) Men also have higher natural levels of testosterone, which affects traits such as hemoglobin levels, body fat content, the storage and use of carbohydrates, and the development of Type 2 muscle fibers, all of which result in men being able to generate higher speed and power during physical activity.

(9) There is a sports performance gap between males and females, such that the physiological advantages conferred by biological sex appear, on assessment of performance data, insurmountable.

(10) While classifications based on sex are generally disfavored, the Supreme Court has recognized that sex classifications may be used to compensate women for particular economic disabilities they have suffered, to promote equal employment opportunity, and to advance full development of the talent and capacities of our Nation's people. One place where sex classifications allow for the full development of the talent and capacities of our Nation's people is in the context of sports and athletics.

(11) Courts have recognized that the inherent, physiological differences between males and females result in different athletic capabilities.

(12) The benefits that natural testosterone provides to male athletes is not diminished through the use of testosterone suppression. A recent study on the impact of such treatments found that policies like those of the International Olympic Committee requiring biological males to undergo at least one year of testosterone suppression before competing in women's sports do not create a level playing field. Rather, the study found male performance advantage over females remains substantial and raises obvious concerns about fair and safe competition.

(13) Having separate sex-specific teams furthers efforts to promote sex equality by providing opportunities for female athletes to demonstrate their skill, strength and athletic abilities while also providing them with opportunities to obtain recognition, accolades, college scholarships and the numerous other long-term benefits that flow from success in athletic endeavors.

SECTION 2. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 16-91.2-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Save Women's Sports Act”. 16-91.2-2. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meaning unless the context shall clearly indicate another or different meaning or intent:

(1) "School" means:

(i) An educational institution that provides instruction in any combination of kindergarten programs or grades one through twelve (12); or

(ii) An institution of higher education. 16-91.2-3. Interscholastic and intramural athletics - designation of teams.

(a) Each interscholastic or intramural athletic team or sport that is sponsored by a public school or a private school whose students or teams compete against a public school shall be expressly designated as one of the following based on the biological sex of the students who participate on the team or in the sport:

(1) "Males", "men" or "boys";

(2) "Females", "women" or "girls"; or

(3) "Coed" or "mixed".

(b) Athletic teams or sports designated for "females", "women" or "girls" shall not be open to students of the male sex.

(c) This chapter does not restrict the eligibility of any student to participate in any interscholastic or intramural athletic team or sport designated as being for "males", "men" or "boys" or designated as "coed" or "mixed". 16-91.2-4. Adverse action prohibited. A government entity, any licensing or accrediting organization or any athletic association or organization shall not entertain a complaint, open an investigation or take any other adverse action against a school for maintaining separate interscholastic or intramural athletic teams or sports for students of the female sex. 16-91.2-5. Cause of action.

(a) Any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a school knowingly violating this chapter shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the school.

(b) Any student who is subject to retaliation or another adverse action by a school or an athletic association or organization as a result of reporting a violation of this chapter to an employee or representative of the school or the athletic association or organization, or to any state or federal agency with oversight of schools in this state, shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the school or the athletic association or organization.

(c) Any school that suffers any direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of this chapter shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the government entity, the licensing or accrediting organization or the athletic association or organization. 16-91.2-6. Statute of limitations. All civil actions shall be initiated within two (2) years after the alleged violation of this chapter occurred. A person or organization that prevails on a claim brought pursuant to this chapter is entitled to monetary damages, including damages for any psychological, emotional or physical harm suffered, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs and any other appropriate relief. 16-91.2-7. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, that judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this chapter but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, section, or part directly involved in the controversy in which that judgment shall have been rendered.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.