Republican Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr will introduce legislation that requires schools and higher education institutions to “ensure biological fairness” in women’s sports as a condition of receiving federal funding, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
The bill, titled “The Defend Girls Athletics Act,” requires elementary and secondary schools, along with institutions of higher education, to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order signed on Feb. 5, which issued a nationwide ban on biological men competing in women’s sports. The legislation directs all Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to annually certify to State Education Agencies that they are complying with Trump’s executive order, which would then be reported to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), according to the legislation.
If either the local or state-level education agencies are non-compliant or fail to send a report, the DOE is authorized to withhold funds, the legislation reads. Higher education institutions, including student loan programs, must submit their certification annually by July 1 to remain eligible for federal funding.
If the bill passes, agencies would remain ineligible to receive funding until they agree to comply with Trump’s order, the legislation reads.
“Biological boys don’t belong in girls’ sports, period,” Barr said. “As the father of two girls who play sports, I’ll do everything I can to protect our girls. President Trump and Secretary [Linda] McMahon have led the way along with activists and athletes like my constituent Riley Gaines to protect young women and their sports. Schools throughout America should do the same or face consequences for endangering female athletes.”
The bill is co-sponsored by 49 lawmakers, including House Republican Conference chairwoman Lisa McClain, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.
“Female athletes in Michigan and across the country deserve a level playing field. Their hard work and achievements deserve respect. This is about fairness, science, and safeguarding opportunities for future generations of young women,” McClain said. “I am proud to co-sponsor this bill with Congressman Barr as we codify President Trump’s executive order. We are protecting the integrity of women’s sports and the decades of progress made since Title IX was enacted.”
The bill also received the endorsement of former collegiate swimmer and women’s rights activist Riley Gaines.
“Enough is enough,” Gaines said. “Forcing women to compete against men and give up our locker rooms is an assault on our rights, our safety, and our dignity. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we know what it looks like to have leaders who actually stand up for women.”
Some liberal states have openly defied and legally challenged the order, making the administration freezing funds more difficult to enforce. The DOE moved to cut all K-12 funding from the state of Maine in April and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) revoked funds for nutrition programs over the state’s noncompliance with the order, though the administration agreed to unfreeze the funds in a May 2 settlement.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education (CDE) on Wednesday after informing the DOE that it would not comply with the administration’s demands to keep men out of women’s sports. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also filed a pending lawsuit against the administration in April, as they had threatened to withhold funding from the state concerning men competing against women.
In January, the House passed the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” which amends Title IX to prohibit men from competing against women athletes. Democrat Texas Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Henry Cuellar were the only two House Democrats to vote in favor of the bill.
Several female athletes sustained injuries after being forced to compete against men. Payton McNabb, a volleyball player in from North Carolina, suffered a traumatic brain injury, partial paralysis and loss of peripheral vision on her right side after a trans-identifying male athlete spiked a volleyball onto her head in September 2022.
A basketball coach for the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell, Massachusetts, abruptly ended a game at halftime on Feb. 8, 2024, after three female athletes were injured by a six-foot male player with facial hair, the Heritage Foundation reported. Widely circulated footage showed the male athlete, who identified as a woman, causing a female to fall to the ground and clutching her back in pain as he wrestled the ball away from her.
Even in non-elite sports, studies have found that the least powerful man produces more power than the most powerful woman, marking a major safety risk for female athletes, according to the United Nations General Assembly. As of March 2024, more than 600 female athletes in over 400 competitions have lost a combined total of over 890 medals in 29 different sports to male competitors, according to the House Oversight Committee.
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