LD 2239

132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
  SECOND REGULAR SESSION-2026
Legislative Document  No. 2239
I.B. 3  House of Representatives, March 19, 2026
  An Act to Designate School Sports Participation and Facilities by
  Sex
   Transmitted to the Clerk of the 132nd Maine Legislature by the Secretary of State on
March 18, 2026 and ordered printed.
  ROBERT B. HUNT
  Clerk
  Printed on recycled paper
1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2     Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §4602, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 366, §19, is amended to
3 read:
4     5. Application. Nothing in this section:
5     A. Requires an educational institution to provide separate athletic or other
6     extracurricular programs to serve a person with a physical or mental disability;
7     B. May be construed to affect the rights of a person with a physical or mental disability
8     to special education programs under state or federal law;
9     C. Requires a religious corporation, association or society that does not receive public
10     funding to comply with this section as it relates to sexual orientation or gender identity;
11     or
12     D. Requires an educational institution to participate in or endorse any religious beliefs
13     or practices; to the extent that an educational institution permits religious expression,
14     it cannot discriminate between religions in so doing.; or
15     E. May be construed to conflict with the provisions of Title 20-A, section 4017.
16     Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §4017 is enacted to read:
17 §4017. Participation in interscholastic and competitive sports; privacy in facilities
18    1. Short title. This section may be known and cited as "the Protect Girls' Sports in
19 Maine Act."
20     2. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "sex" means a person's biological status
21 as male or female recorded at birth on the person's original birth certificate.
22     3. Designation of athletic teams. A public school subject to this Title, or an entity that
23 governs interscholastic or competitive sports by public schools in the State, shall expressly
24 designate athletic teams as one of the following:
25     A. "Males," "boys" or "men";
26     B. "Females," "girls" or "women"; or
27     C. "Coeducational" or "mixed."
28     4. Eligibility. The following provisions govern eligibility.
29     A. Athletic teams designated for females, girls or women must be restricted to students
30     whose sex is female.
31     B. Athletic teams designated for males, boys or men must be restricted to students
32     whose sex is male.
33     C. Athletic teams designated as coeducational or mixed must be open to all eligible
34     females and males.
35     D. A female student may participate on an athletic team designated for males, boys or
36     men if no athletic team designated for females, girls or women is available in that sport.
37     5. Privacy in facilities. A public school shall maintain separate restrooms, locker
38 rooms, shower rooms and other private spaces for each sex. A member of one sex may not
39 be permitted to use a facility designated for members of the opposite sex.
  Page 1 - 132LR3086(01)
1     6. Construction with Maine Human Rights Act. Separation of athletic teams and
2 private spaces by sex under this section does not constitute unlawful discrimination under
3 Title 5, chapter 337.
4      7. Americans with Disabilities Act protections. Notwithstanding any other provision
5 of this section to the contrary, an individual born with a biologically verifiable disorder or
6 difference in sex development must receive all legal protections and accommodations
7 afforded under federal law, including the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,
8 42 United States Code, Section 12101 et seq.
9      8. Civil enforcement. A student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers
10 direct injury because of a violation of this section may bring a civil action for injunctive
11 relief, damages and attorney's fees against a school or entity.
12     Sec. 3. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2027.
13SUMMARY
14     This initiated bill requires public schools and entities that govern interscholastic or
15 competitive sports by public schools to designate athletic teams as for males, for females
16 or coeducational. Athletic teams designated for females must be restricted to students
17 whose sex is female and athletic teams designated for males must be restricted to students
18 whose sex is male. Athletic teams designated as coeducational must be open to all eligible
19 females and males. A female student may participate on a team designated for males if no
20 team designated for females is available in that sport. "Sex" is defined as a person's
21 biological status as male or female recorded at birth on the person's original birth certificate.
22    The initiated bill requires public schools to maintain separate restrooms, locker rooms,
23 shower rooms and other private spaces for each sex. A member of one sex may not be
24 permitted to use a facility designated for members of the opposite sex.
25     The initiated bill provides that an individual born with a biologically verifiable disorder
26 or difference in sex development must receive all legal protections and accommodations
27 afforded under federal law, including the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
28      The initiated bill provides a private right of action for a student who is deprived of an
29 athletic opportunity or suffers direct injury because of a violation of a provision of the
30 initiated bill.
31     The initiated bill provides that separation of athletic teams and private spaces by sex
32 under the initiated bill does not constitute unlawful discrimination under the Maine Human
33 Rights Act and that the Maine Human Rights Act may not be construed to conflict with the
34 provisions of the initiated bill.
  Page 2 - 132LR3086(01)