Texas Enacts Transgender Youth Sports Ban

(Dallas, TX, January 18, 2022) - Texas House Bill 25, the anti-trans youth law, that bans transgender student athletes from playing on K-12 school sports teams that align with their gender identities, goes into effect today. HB 25 is one of the dozens of bills attacking transgender youth that swept through multiple state legislatures in 2021.

Lambda Legal Senior Staff Attorney, Shelly Skeen, issued the following statement:

"HB 25 targets and attempts to further marginalize an already vulnerable student population by denying transgender kids the many benefits and opportunities full and equal participation in interscholastic athletics provides. It not only excludes them from the leadership skills, teamwork, self-esteem, discipline, health benefits and camaraderie that sports offer, but it also sets them apart from their peers each day at school, subjecting them to increased bullying and harassment, which is already all too pervasive in our schools. No student in our state, or anywhere, should suffer such unfair and unequal treatment simply because of who they are.

Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and policy work. www.lambdalegal.org