What’s on your ballot? Prop 318 would restrict transgender athletes in Arizona schools

Arizona voters will decide if they want to prevent transgender youth from playing on sports teams designated for the opposite biological sex when they vote on Proposition 318 in the Nov. 3 election.

Prop 318, also known as the Protect Girls’ Sports in Arizona Act, would require K-12 schools to designate boys’ or girls’ sports teams on the basis of biological sex listed on the child’s birth certificate.

The ballot measure would also ban students from using bathrooms, showers, locker rooms or any other private spaces considered “integral to athletic engagement” that are not designated for their biological sex.

Another part of Prop 318 would authorize athletes to sue schools that violate the measure.

The measure was referred to the ballot by Republican lawmakers through House Concurrent Resolution 2003 earlier this year and would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, if voters pass it.

What are the arguments for Prop 318?

Arizona state Rep. Selina Bliss told KTAR News 92.3 FM that, as a former student-athlete, sponsoring the resolution was personal.

“It’s become apparent and necessary that this is important. We’re hearing in other states, if you don’t protect girls’ sports, this is what’s going to happen to your girls’ sports teams. So why wait until this matter becomes bigger and bigger? Because it is a growing phenomenon that a male, if they don’t succeed in male sports, can displace a female,” she said.

Bliss noted that the proposed law doesn’t prevent transgender student-athletes from competing on designated coed teams.

“Boys and girls together do really well until they start to hit prepuberty,” she said. “Then you see that difference, and that’s where safety becomes an issue. So, that’s where you can choose to be on a coed team. So everybody gets to play.”

In a letter posted on the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office website, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne expressed support of Prop 318.

“The newspapers have been full of stories about girls who work really hard on their sports skills to make a team or perhaps get a college scholarship or compete for the Olympics. Then they have to compete against a biological male who has unfair advantages and they are totally devastated. This is a terrible injustice,” he wrote.

What are the arguments against Prop 318?

Darrell Hill, the policy director for ACLU of Arizona, said the organization opposes the “unnecessary” legislation due to how it would prevent transgender girls from participating in sports and using locker rooms.

“You are in danger of facilities or cities reading the law very broadly and restricting access to bathrooms for trans kids and adults in a variety of situations which have nothing to do with participation in sports. … It can really act as a big barrier for trans people to participate in public life,” he said.

Hill explained that the ACLU believes the proposition violates the First Amendment by impeding private schools’ rights to allow transgender participation in sports.

State Sen. Mitzi Epstein opposes the proposition, writing in a letter that it would be harmful to female athletes in the state.

“When the U.S. passed Title IX, we made a promise to all women and girls that their contributions to sports were equal and would forever be treated as such. Proposition 318 would betray that promise, harming all women and girls in an effort to score political points by discriminating against trans girls. This bad proposition tells girls that they are less valued than boys. This prop would subject girls to invasive inspections and questions about their gender,” she wrote.

What will Arizona voters see about Prop 318 on their ballots?

Here is the official ballot language for Prop 318:

OFFICIAL TITLE: AMENDING SECTION 15-120.02, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES

DESCRIPTIVE TITLE: REQUIRES ALL SCHOOLS AND ATHLETIC ASSOCIATIONS TO DESIGNATE ATHLETIC TEAMS AS MALE, FEMALE, OR COED BASED ON THE BIOLOGICAL SEX OF THE ATHLETES AS DEFINED AT BIRTH; PROHIBITS THESE ENTITIES FROM AUTHORIZING USE OF PRIVATE SPACES NOT DESIGNATED FOR A PERSON’S SEX.

A “yes” vote shall have the effect of: (1) requiring private schools, public schools, and athletic associations to designate every athletic team as male, female, or coed/mixed based on sex and to prevent males from joining female teams; existing law imposes this requirement only on public schools and those competing against them; (2) prohibiting schools and athletic associations from authorizing anyone to use private spaces (such as restrooms) not designated for that individual’s sex; (3) defining “sex” as an individual’s biological status as male or female as recorded at birth on an original birth certificate; and (4) authorizing athletes to sue schools and athletic associations that knowingly violate this law. A “no” vote shall have the effect of maintaining the current laws relating to student athletics.

Does Arizona already have a transgender sports law?

In March 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed the Save Women’s Sports Act, banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ school sports teams. However, a lawsuit blocked the law from going into effect until this year.

According to the Arizona Interscholastic Association, there have been no transgender student-athletes in the state since the law was signed.

“Families have inquired about transgender participation since the law was passed, but since it’s a state law and overrides any AIA bylaw or policy the association has, there can’t be any consideration,” a spokesperson from the AIA said.

Prop 318 was proposed as the plaintiffs who sued to block the Save Women’s Sports Act dropped their lawsuit following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a similar case in July.

That decision removed the long-standing legal issue that kept the law from being enforced.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

Subscribe to the KTAR Eyes on Education newsletter to get our top education stories, exclusive guest interviews and more to your email inbox.

Related

School board protest halts business in Phoenix districtApache Junction offers a la carte public school classes for ESA familiesRed Mountain High School stays open despite flooding, electrical issuesArizona superintendent hopefuls debate ESAs, education funding and teacher payProp 320 receives no support during KTAR News town hall, compared to ‘punishment referral’Kimberly Yee, Teresa Leyba Ruiz face off in Arizona schools chief debate