Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland Senate Bill SB588 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	sb0588
6	6
7	7	SENATE BILL 588
8	8	F1, D5 5lr1426
9	9	SB 381/24 – EEE
10	10	By: Senators Carozza, Bailey, Gallion, Mautz, and Watson
11	11	Introduced and read first time: January 23, 2025
12	12	Assigned to: Education, Energy, and the Environment
13	13
14	14	A BILL ENTITLED
15	15
16	16	AN ACT concerning 1
17	17
18	18	Education – Interscholastic and Intramural Junior Varsity and Varsity Teams 2
19	19	and Sports – Designation 3
20	20	(Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act) 4
21	21
22	22	FOR the purpose of requiring certain interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and 5
23	23	varsity athletic teams or sports sponsored by certain schools to be expressly 6
24	24	designated in a certain manner; prohibiting certain interscholastic and intramural 7
25	25	junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports from including certain students; 8
26	26	prohibiting certain entities from taking certain adverse actions against a school for 9
27	27	maintaining separate interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity 10
28	28	athletic teams and sports for students of the female sex; authorizing certain students 11
29	29	to bring a civil action against certain entities under certain circumstances; and 12
30	30	generally relating to interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity teams 13
31	31	and sports of public and nonpublic schools. 14
32	32
33	33	BY adding to 15
34	34	Article – Education 16
35	35	Section 7–118 17
36	36	Annotated Code of Maryland 18
37	37	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
38	38
39	39	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 20
40	40	That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 21
41	41
42	42	Article – Education 22
43	43
44	44	7–118. 23
45	45
46	46	(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION THE F OLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANI NGS 24
47	47	INDICATED. 25 2 SENATE BILL 588
48	48
49	49
50	50
51	51	(2) “STUDENT OF THE FEMALE SEX” MEANS A STUDENT WHOS E 1
52	52	BIOLOGICAL SEX IS FE MALE. 2
53	53
54	54	(3) “STUDENT OF THE MALE S EX” MEANS A STUDENT WHOS E 3
55	55	BIOLOGICAL SEX IS MA LE. 4
56	56
57	57	(B) THIS SECTION APPLIES TO: 5
58	58
59	59	(1) PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS ; AND 6
60	60
61	61	(2) NONPUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL S FOR WHICH THE STUDENT ATHLETES 7
62	62	OR ATHLETIC TEAMS CO MPETE AGAINST STUDEN T ATHLETES OR ATHLET IC TEAMS 8
63	63	FROM PUBLIC HIGH SCH OOLS IN THE STATE. 9
64	64
65	65	(C) (1) AN INTERSCHOLASTIC OR INTRAMURAL JUNIOR VA RSITY OR 10
66	66	VARSITY ATHLETIC TEA M OR SPORT THAT IS SPO NSORED BY A PUBLIC O R 11
67	67	NONPUBLIC HIGH SCHOO L SHALL BE EXPRESSLY DESIGNATED AS ONE OF THE 12
68	68	FOLLOWING: 13
69	69
70	70	(I) A BOYS’, MALE, OR MEN’S TEAM OR SPORT ; 14
71	71
72	72	(II) A GIRLS’, FEMALE, OR WOMEN’S TEAM OR SPORT ; OR 15
73	73
74	74	(III) A COEDUCATIONAL OR MIX ED TEAM OR SPORT . 16
75	75
76	76	(2) AN INTERSCHOLASTIC OR INTRAMURAL JUNIOR VA RSITY OR 17
77	77	VARSITY ATHLETIC TEA M OR SPORT DESIGNATE D FOR GIRLS, FEMALES, OR WOMEN 18
78	78	MAY NOT INCLUDE STUD ENTS OF THE MALE SEX . 19
79	79
80	80	(D) A GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY , A LICENSING OR ACCRE DITING 20
81	81	ORGANIZATION , OR AN ATHLETIC ASSOC IATION OR ORGANIZATI ON MAY NOT ACCEPT 21
82	82	A COMPLAINT, CONDUCT AN INVESTIGA TION, OR TAKE ANY OTHER AD VERSE ACTION 22
83	83	AGAINST A SCHOOL FOR MAINTAINING SEPARATE INTERSCHOLASTIC OR 23
84	84	INTRAMURAL JUNIOR VA RSITY OR VARSITY ATH LETIC TEAMS OR SPORT S FOR 24
85	85	STUDENTS OF THE FEMA LE SEX. 25
86	86
87	87	(E) (1) A STUDENT WHO IS DEPRI VED OF AN ATHLETIC O PPORTUNITY OR 26
88	88	SUFFERS ANY DIRECT O R INDIRECT HARM AS A RESULT OF A VIOLATIO N OF THIS 27
89	89	SECTION MAY BRING A CIVIL ACTION AGAINST THE SCHOOL THE STUDE NT ATTENDS. 28
90	90
91	91	(2) A STUDENT WHO IS SUBJE CT TO RETALIATION OR OTHER 29
92	92	ADVERSE ACTION BY A SCHOOL OR AN ATHLETI C ASSOCIATION OR ORG ANIZATION 30 SENATE BILL 588 3
93	93
94	94
95	95	AS A RESULT OF REPOR TING A VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION TO AN E MPLOYEE OR 1
96	96	REPRESENTATIVE OF TH E SCHOOL, ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION OR ORGANIZATION , OR 2
97	97	ANY STATE OR FEDERAL AGEN CY WITH OVERSIGHT OF SCHOOLS IN THE STATE MAY 3
98	98	BRING A CIVIL ACTION AGAINST THE SCHOOL O R ATHLETIC ASSOCIATI ON OR 4
99	99	ORGANIZATION . 5
100	100
101	101	(F) THIS SECTION MAY BE K NOWN AND CITED AS TH E FAIRNESS IN GIRLS’ 6
102	102	SPORTS ACT. 7
103	103
104	104	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, if any provision of this Act or 8
105	105	the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid for any reason in a 9
106	106	court of competent jurisdiction, the provision shall be construed to give the provision the 10
107	107	maximum effect permitted by law unless the provision is held to be absolutely invalid. 11
108	108
109	109	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That, if any provision of this Act or 12
110	110	the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid for any reason in a 13
111	111	court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or any other 14
112	112	application of this Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, 15
113	113	and for this purpose the provisions of this Act are declared severable. 16
114	114
115	115	SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect July 17
116	116	1, 2025. 18
117	117