Sen. Susan Collins signed a petition to get a referendum on the 2026 ballot that would bar transgender students in Maine from sports teams and private spaces that align with their gender identities.

If the referendum were to qualify for the ballot and pass, it would require Maine public schools to designate teams as existing for “male” or “female” players and require students to play on teams matching their biological sex as it appears on their birth certificates, according to The Maine Monitor.

The proposal would allow students to file civil suits if they feel they are deprived of an opportunity or face injury from playing sports with transgender students.

The proposed initiative aims to enforce President Donald Trump’s stance on Title IX, the law barring sex discrimination in schools.

A spokesperson for Collins on Monday confirmed that she signed the petition, citing Collins’ alignment with that stance. Collins had voted in March for legislation in the Senate that aimed to bar transgender women and girls nationwide from participating in school athletic competitions designated for female athletes.

Collins’ spokesperson said the senator “will not be involved in the state referendum campaign because, as a federal official, she does not advocate on state ballot issues.”

The interpretation of Title IX contradicts Maine’s Human Rights Act, which was expanded in 2021 to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. The Maine Human Rights Commission is suing five school districts that implemented restrictions on transgender students, alleging they violated the act by doing so.

The Trump administration has threatened to pull funding from schools that allow students assigned male at birth to compete on girls’ sports teams under that interpretation of Title IX. It took a spotlight in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills and Trump’s heated exchange in February, culminating in Mills telling him, “See you in court.”