AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers are preparing to debate several bills to restrict the rights of transgender students in schools — a subject of intense debate following a Trump administration executive order to ban transgender athletes in girls’ sports.

Rep. Elizabeth Caruso, R-Caratunk, unveiled one of those bills at a news conference at the State House on Wednesday. It would require school sports teams to be designated as male, female or coed and would prohibit students who are biologically male from competing in female sports.

The bill would also require schools to designate restrooms and changing rooms for use by males or females only.

“This is about every student-athlete being seen, safe and able to play competitive sports on a level playing field,” Caruso said.

Tensions around the topic have escalated in Maine over the past week after a Republican lawmaker’s viral social media post led to President Donald Trump threatening to withhold federal funding from the state if Maine does not comply with the order.

Gov. Janet Mills and other officials have said they will continue to comply with the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

BILL INTRODUCED WEDNESDAY

At Wednesday’s news conference, Caruso said that allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports has taken away opportunities for girls, stripping them of medals and scholarships, and also exposes them to greater risk of injury.

“Win or lose, male athletes are taking opportunities from female athletes, and that’s not just unfair, it’s discriminatory,” she said. “This bill will ensure that no girl or woman in Maine will have to feel they have no choice but to have to drop out of a team, or that no girls’ team has to drop out of a competition for fear of getting hurt.”

She pointed out that students of any gender or gender identity could play on a coed sports team, which schools could designate under the legislation. “Every kid gets to play … but their scores don’t have to be in the same standing, in the same column as girls,” Caruso said.

With Democrats holding a majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate, Caruso would need some support from Democrats for the bill to pass. While she did not name any Democratic lawmakers who have pledged support, Caruso said Wednesday that she believes the issue is something that is broadly supported.

“We’re submitting it and the bill will be going through the process with opportunities for a public hearing and work session, and I have confidence that this will pass,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Theresa Pierce, D-Falmouth, said Wednesday that she hadn’t seen the bill yet. Asked if she foresees Democrats lending any support, Pierce said the issue has wrongly been used as political fodder over the last few days and that it should be debated in the proper way through the legislative process, including a public hearing and work session.

“It’s never the correct thing to do, putting kids in jeopardy and making it hard just to be a kid,” Pierce said. “What we want to focus on are the things that will move kids forward: having strong schools, housing, health care. Those are things we’re focused on.”

Pierce said she wants all kids in Maine, including transgender students, to be protected. “There are lots of things that affect kids in their daily lives, and we’re getting back to those focuses,” she said. “How do we lower costs so people can stay in their homes and so kids can go to school and have the lives they hope to have?”

ADVOCATES, STUDENTS VOICE OPINIONS

Meanwhile, advocates for LGBTQ youth expressed concerns Wednesday with Caruso’s bill and said that even just the introduction and debate of the bill, regardless of whether it passes, could have harmful mental health impacts.

“It’s harmful even to just propose bills like this, seeing that there is no problem with transgender girls playing sports or participating in school activities,” said Gia Drew, executive director of EqualityMaine, Maine’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.

Sue Campbell, executive director of OUT Maine, which supports LGBTQ youth, is also concerned by the legislation, which she said denies transgender students the same inclusive and affirming environment that other students are allowed.

“The reality is that all youth should have an opportunity to participate in sports and extracurricular activities regardless of their identity,” Campbell said. “Saying transgender girls can’t play sports is discriminatory. You’re singling out a particular student and saying that because of their identity they aren’t eligible to participate in an activity that all the other students are able to participate in.”

She said proposing coed sports teams is unlikely to provide a legitimate solution. “Unless all schools opt to have coed sports and develop a structure where all students have an equal opportunity to play, I’m not sure that entirely works,” Campbell said.

Wednesday’s news conference was well-attended by supporters of Caruso’s bill, including high school athletes.

“I don’t think that it’s fair that men can come into our sports because they have a biological advantage,” said Angelina Boisvert, a junior at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield who plays basketball and field hockey and who also participates in track and gymnastics.

Boisvert said one of her teammates was at a track championship last week where a transgender student reportedly won a girls’ event.

Boisvert said her teammate didn’t place as high as a result, meaning that she wouldn’t be eligible for a New England-wide competition. She said she likes the idea of a coed category in sports.

“Women who want to compete against the guys can, so that way the girls who don’t want to don’t have to,” Boisvert said.

Zoe Hutchins, a senior at Lawrence High School in Fairfield, was also at the track championship. She said girls at the meet were upset and discouraged about having to compete against a biologically male student.

“Biological males should not be competing in women’s sports,” Hutchins said. “There are obvious differences they have inherently. They are taller, faster, stronger, they have wider arm spans and greater lung capacity. Those are differences you can’t deny, so to allow them to compete against women, it’s not fair.”

Drew, from EqualityMaine, said she has heard from young athletes who support transgender teammates and competitors and are OK with them participating in girls’ sports.

“Maybe there’s a few folks who don’t understand what it means to be transgender and who think there’s an unfair advantage, but there isn’t, and most girls, coaches, parents and athletes are supportive of making sure they are able to participate in the sport they want to play,” Drew said.

OTHER BILLS FILED

Three other bill titles similar to Caruso’s have also been submitted for the legislative session that ends in June, though it’s possible the bills may be combined or that some may be withdrawn.

House Minority Leader Rep. Katrina Smith, R-Palermo, said Wednesday she has withdrawn one of them that she was sponsoring and will instead co-sponsor Caruso’s bill.

Rep. Richard Campbell, R-Orrington, is sponsoring a similar bill, LD 233, which would prohibit schools, including colleges and universities, that receive state funding from allowing students who were assigned male at birth from participating in sports or activities designed for girls or women.

And Sen. Sue Bernard, R-Caribou, is sponsoring An Act to Protect Female Athletic Opportunities by Prohibiting Male Participation in Female Sports. The text of her bill has not yet been published.

Smith also has a bill that she said would mandate that students are required to use the school bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex and that would require schools to also make a third option available in addition to male and female restrooms.

And Rep. Sheila Lyman, R-Livermore Falls, is sponsoring a bill to require schools to use the name and gender specified on a student’s birth certificate.

Republicans are also pushing for broader rollbacks of transgender rights.

Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, is proposing a bill to remove consideration of gender identity from the Maine Human Rights Act. The text of the bill has yet to be published.

That law has been cited by the Maine Principals’ Association, which oversees high school sports, as the foundation for its policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.

And Sen. David Haggan, R-Hampden, is sponsoring LD 380, which would repeal protections for gender-affirming care. Gender-affirming care was also a topic that drew intense debate last year as lawmakers worked to pass a bill to shield providers of legally protected abortion and gender-affirming care from hostile out-of-state litigation.

One Democratic bill addressing transgender students and gender identity in schools is from Rep. Cheryl Golek, D-Harpswell, who has filed a bill to require education on LGBTQ communities. The text of that bill has not been printed yet.

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