S.B. No. 15
AN ACT
relating to requiring public institution of higher education
students who compete in intercollegiate athletic competitions to
compete based on biological sex.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the Save Women's Sports
Act.
SECTION 2. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.980 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.980. INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC COMPETITION BASED ON
BIOLOGICAL SEX. (a) In this section:
(1) "Athletic competition" means any athletic display
between teams or individuals, such as a contest, exhibition,
performance, or sport.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an
intercollegiate athletic team sponsored or authorized by an
institution of higher education may not allow:
(1) a student to compete on the team in an
intercollegiate athletic competition sponsored or authorized by
the institution that is designated for the biological sex opposite
to the student's biological sex; or
(2) a male student to compete on the team in a
mixed-sex intercollegiate athletic competition sponsored or
authorized by the institution in a position that is designated by
rule or procedure for female students.
(c) An intercollegiate athletic team described by
Subsection (b) may allow a female student to compete in an
intercollegiate athletic competition that is designated for male
students if a corresponding intercollegiate athletic competition
designated for female students is not offered or available.
(d) For purposes of this section:
(1) a student's biological sex is the biological sex
correctly stated on:
(A) the student's official birth certificate, as
described by Subdivision (2); or
(B) if the student's official birth certificate
described by Paragraph (A) is unobtainable, another government
record that accurately states the student's biological sex; and
(2) a statement of a student's biological sex on the
student's official birth certificate is considered to have
correctly stated the student's biological sex only if the statement
was:
(A) entered at or near the time of the student's
birth; or
(B) modified to correct a scrivener or clerical
error in the student's biological sex.
(e) An institution of higher education or an
intercollegiate athletic team described by Subsection (b) may not
retaliate against a person for reporting a violation of this
section.
(f) A person may bring a civil action for injunctive relief
against an institution of higher education or an intercollegiate
athletic team described by Subsection (b) that violates this
section.
(g) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules to implement this section. The rules must ensure
compliance with state and federal law regarding the confidentiality
of student medical information, including Chapter 181, Health and
Safety Code, and the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.).
SECTION 3. This Act applies to any intercollegiate athletic
competition sponsored or authorized by a public institution of
higher education that occurs on or after the effective date of this
Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 15 passed the Senate on
March 29, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 19, Nays 10,
two present not voting; and that the Senate concurred in House
amendment on May 26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 19,
Nays 12.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 15 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 95,
Nays 50, three present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor