Texas Republican lawmakers have rallied around a bill that would restrict college sports teams that transgender athletes can join.

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A Republican bill that would expand Texas’ restrictions on transgender athletes to the college level could become law after gaining the support of a majority in the House of Representatives.

The sponsor of the bill, R-Spring Republican Rep. Valorie Swanson, announced Wednesday that 77 GOP colleagues have signed on as co-sponsors of House Bill 23. The measure has already been supported by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, President of the Senate, and Governor Greg Abbott.

The law prohibits transgender men from participating in men’s college sports teams and transgender women from joining women’s college sports teams. But the bill would also allow cisgender and transgender female athletes to play on a men’s team if a particular sport doesn’t have a matching women’s team. The bill would also extend the current restrictions on transgender athletes in K-12 schools to private schools whose sports teams compete against public schools.

There are still almost three months left before the end of the legislative session, and the bill may face, among other things, procedural problems. But for now, the unified support of the Republican Party makes it likely that the proposal will become law in one form or another.

Swanson said in a press release that the law is important to “protect fairness in women’s sports.” The proposal is a priority for Patrick, and at a conservative political conference last month, Abbott also pledged to prevent trans women from competing with cisgender women at the college level.

Opponents say the proposal needlessly targets transgender Texans and further stigmatizes them.

“It’s such a distraction from the real issues that women and girls face and is aimed at an already vulnerable group of Texans who do nothing but try to be part of their communities,” said Ann Lieberman, political director for advocacy group Athlete Ally. .

House Bill 23 is among dozens of bills that could make a major difference in the lives of gay and transgender Texans. Republicans also want to limit when sexuality and gender identity are taught in schools, where people can perform in cross-dressing, and what medical care is available to transgender children.

Two years ago, Abbott signed a law banning transgender student athletes from playing on K-12 school sports teams that match their gender identity. However, the right to go further came with almost instantaneous pressure, and HB 23 extended the 2021 ban to include transgender students in college and university sports.

For more than a decade, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has allowed transgender women to compete in women’s college athletics if they have taken testosterone-suppressing drugs for at least one year to treat gender dysphoria. Transgender men could compete in men’s team championships if they received testosterone treatment for gender dysphoria.

Last year, the NCAA Board of Governors adopted a new policy that will be phased in for the 2024/25 season. Under the new policy, the national governing body for each sport will determine eligibility for trans athletes, although there are still requirements to report testosterone levels to the NCAA. The changes were made in response to growing pressure from anti-trans activists who criticized the NCAA’s decision to allow trans woman Leah Thomas to compete on the University of Pennsylvania women’s swim team.

Trans athletes are currently required to comply with policy requirements set in 2010 to provide documented testosterone levels for their sport at the start of the season and six months after the start of competition.

The NCAA has not taken a stand on similar legislation passed in states across the country. But at least 20 Texas universities compete in NCAA competition, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University, and Texas A&M University. The law will also prevent transgender athletes who attend schools outside of Texas from competing against Texas university teams.

All 77 co-sponsors of the bill number 23 signed it on Tuesday. They include all Republicans in the House of Representatives except Speaker Dade Phelan, who is not normally a co-sponsor of bills, and seven others: Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, Angie Chen Button of Richardson, Charlie Guerin of Fort Worth, Todd Hunter of the Corps . Christy, Stan Lambert from Abilene, Morgan Meyer from Dallas and Mike Schofield from Katy. This is mostly a moderate group of Republicans in the House of Representatives, some of whom were also not co-sponsors of the K-12 ban.

On Wednesday, LGBTQ rights activists again criticized the law.

“Given that sports are such an integral part of Texas culture, I think it’s unfortunate that we see legislators targeting minorities and excluding them from participating in sports, which is such a valuable way for young people to participate and learn about teamwork. and sportsmanship,” he said. Jonathan Gooch, director of communications at Equality Texas.

Legislation could potentially open universities to Title IX lawsuits. In 2021, the Biden administration said the law, which was created over 50 years ago to ban gender discrimination, is extending to LGBTQ students. The Ministry of Education has said it will enforce the law in cases of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“There are so many ways that a bill like this can be challenged,” Lieberman said. “You are talking about adults with discrimination protection in other states and other areas of the country. It makes everything a lot more difficult.”

Disclosure: Equality Texas, Texas A&M University, and the University of Texas at Austin provided financial support to The Texas Tribune, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations, and corporate sponsors. Financial sponsors play no role in Tribune journalism. Find their complete list here.