Washington state passes ballot measure banning trans girls from school sports

Voters in Washington state have passed a ballot measure banning transgender girls from playing on girls’ sports teams, a major loss for LGBTQ+ rights in a solidly Democratic state.The measure says students in elementary, middle and high school who want to join girls’ athletics must first submit statements from their healthcare providers verifying their “biological sex”. Opponents have raised alarms the measure may force girls to endure “invasive and extreme” genital exams to participate in school sports.Initiative 638 passed with support from nearly 57% of voters as of Thursday morning, though votes were still being counted.More than 25 states across the US have adopted similar bans on trans youth athletes, mostly through legislation pushed by Republican lawmakers. Voters in Arizona and Nebraska approved similar ballot measures this week, and a ban proposed in Colorado was leading in early results, but that race has not yet been called.Prohibiting trans youth from sports has become a major priority of conservatives and anti-LGBTQ+ groups who argue that they are protecting “fairness” in women’s athletics. But civil rights advocates say the policies are discriminatory and unnecessary, noting that trans youth have long played sports and that the restrictions target a small group of students already facing extreme prejudice and exclusion.The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association said earlier this year that it was aware of only about 10 trans middle and high school sports players, a tiny fraction of the more than 200,000 students competing statewide. The state has for nearly two decades allowed trans students to play on teams that match their gender identity.Critics of the sports bans argue they subject all girls to harmful scrutiny of their bodies, with opponents of Initiative 638 warning it could “force tens of thousands of Washington girls each year to undergo invasive, embarrassing, and potentially harmful genital exams just to play sports”.More than 140 healthcare providers issued a statement opposing Washington’s measure, with Kelsey Gellner, a Seattle-based pediatric nurse, saying last month: “I tell my kids and patients that my No 1 job is to keep them safe. I can say with confidence that girls do not want to have an unnecessary exam that creates an unsafe barrier.”skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe initiative was introduced in 2025 by a political action committee called Let’s Go Washington, which was founded by Brian Heywood, a hedge fund manager who has funded conservative measures. The measure was considered the most restrictive of the four trans youth sports bans on state ballots this year, as it mandates that girls prove their sex through hormone or genetic tests, or genital examinations. The measure only applies to women’s sports, and boys are not required to undergo any similar procedures.Medical professionals have also criticized the measure for not allowing doctors to rely on birth certificates to confirm a patient’s eligibility to play on girls’ sports teams, with Libby Loft, a family physician in Spokane, saying: “I have to examine someone’s reproductive anatomy – that seems inappropriate to me for a sports physical.”In an interview last month, Loft said sex-verification requirements created additional barriers for girls to participate in athletics, noting they were already twice as likely as boys to drop out of sports by age 14: “I don’t see this as a way to level the playing field for girls, and we’re making a villain out of trans girls who are children.”Civil rights advocates have also argued that Washington’s ban was unconstitutional, violating students’ rights to privacy and equal protection rights. The initiative is due to go into effect in December, though it could face legal challenges.