Senate Republicans heard legislation today, Senate File 96, in the Education Committee to prohibit schools from allowing any student whose “sex is male” from participating in girls’ sports, targeting transgender youth whose assigned sex at birth is different from their true gender.
Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) released the following statement in response:
“This unconstitutional, harmful bill targets and dehumanizes children. In the past, this harmful treatment has led to stigma, isolation, and bullying. Every one of our precious Minnesota children should be treated with all of the rights and dignity that anyone would want and expect.
“The Minnesota State Constitution ensures that transphobic policies have no place in Minnesota schools, as recently found by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
“Forcing other adults to carry out such laws and to participate in legislators’ desire to discriminate against marginalized students harms those individuals. Forcing other students to witness inhumane treatment of their classmates at the behest of the law does active harm to them as well.
“Promoting transphobia in sports hurts trans women who want to compete and women’s sports as a whole. It distracts from the very real threats to women’s sports – racism, pay inequities, sexual abuse, and lack of athletic opportunities in schools to name a few.”
The law is settled on this matter. SF 96 would force schools to violate the U.S. Constitution, the Minnesota Constitution, and Title IX. In 2018, two cisgender boys sued the Minnesota High School League because only girls were allowed to join their school’s competitive dance team. The boys argued that the MHSL violated their right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution—and the Eighth Circuit Court agreed. Further, the court noted that students denied the opportunity to join their schools’ sports teams because of their sex may suffer irreparable harm. SF 96 as written would force schools to act in a manner that the courts have already deemed unconstitutional.
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