Tennessee’s GOP-dominant Senate advanced legislation Monday that would ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ sports.
The bill has been heavily criticized by Democrats and civil rights advocates, who have warned that Tennessee will likely face costly legal challenges.
According to the bill, student athletes would be required to prove that their sex matches that listed on the student’s “original” birth certificate in order to participate in public school sports. If a birth certificate is unavailable, then the parents must provide another form of evidence “indicating the student’s sex at the time of birth.”