March 23, 2025
ATLANTA – Sex and school sports will be a priority for both chambers of Georgia’s General Assembly this year, with House Speaker Jon Burns announcing Tuesday that his caucus will have its own version of legislation banning athletes born male from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
Republicans in the state Senate have a head start on the issue.
A GOP-led Senate committee passed a bill last week that says student athletes in middle school through college can compete only on teams that match the sex on their birth certificates. At a news conference on Monday, Republican leaders of the Senate announced that the issue would be a top priority for them, something that was already clear from the title of their bill — Senate Bill 1.
Even so, Burns, R-Newington, said the House needed its own version.
“I’m not sure what’s in Senate Bill 1,” he said. “We’ve been focused on providing these safeguards, leveling these playing fields, working with good partners to perfect this legislation.”
The House version will be introduced by Rep. Josh Bonner, R-Fayetteville. It appears to differ significantly from the Senate’s in at least one key way: It would affect public school sports starting in kindergarten, Burns said, rather than in middle school.
Like SB 1, the House version would affect private schools that compete against public schools, he said.
In explaining the need for such legislation, Republicans have pointed to a much-publicized NCAA swim meet at Georgia Tech in 2022 when an athlete born male dominated the women’s field. GOP lawmakers say that incident demonstrates that women and girls need to be protected from competing against men and boys — and from sharing locker rooms with them.
Democrats contend it was an isolated incident. Asked about that, Burns said he doesn’t disclose everything he knows, “but I know some situations where boys have competed against girls.”
Burns said the GOP House legislation builds off a 2022 state law that authorized the Georgia High School Association to “prohibit students whose gender is male from participating in athletic events that are designated for students whose gender is female.” The GHSA promptly did just that.
