ST. PAUL – Recently the State of Minnesota was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to adhere to Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
This week, the Minnesota House of Representatives attempted to end this illegal practice by debating the Preserving Girls Sports Act on the House floor. The bill would prohibit boys from playing in girls’ sports in Minnesota. State Representative John Burkel (R-Badger) voted for the bill.
“It’s embarrassing we even have to debate this,” Burkel said. “Minnesota continues to be one of only a handful of states that thinks its fine for a someone who was born as a boy to play in a sport with girls. It’s not fair and it’s not safe for our female athletes.”
According to the U.S. Department of Justice complaint, Defendants Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) have engaged in sex-based discrimination by requiring girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions that are designated exclusively for girls and allowing boys to invade intimate spaces designated exclusively for girls, such as multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms.
Burkel said the Preserving Girls Sports Act specifically states that only students of the female sex may participate in an elementary or secondary school athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls. If there is a dispute, a student must present a signed physician’s statement indicating the student’s sex is based solely on the student’s internal and external anatomy, natural occurring level of testosterone, and an analysis of the student’s chromosomes.
Burkel said the bill received a full vote of the Minnesota House on April 7. All 67 Republicans voted for the proposal, and all 66 Democrats voted against it. Because 68 votes are needed for legislation to be approved in the Minnesota House, the Preserving Girls Sports Act failed to pass by one vote.