ATLANTA – State Representative Philip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg) recently pre-filed the Student Athlete Protection Act, legislation which aims to protect the safety and quality of competition in youth sports in Georgia. This legislation would only allow public and government facilities to be used for individual sports that are designated as single sex sports when genetic males and genetic females are required to compete in their biological matching fields. This legislation will be formally introduced during the 2020 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly.
“The purpose of the Student Athlete Protection Act is to preserve the integrity of athletic competition and protect our youth,” said Rep. Singleton. “This legislation would not dictate how organizations define their sports, but it would give children and parents peace of mind, as well as provide children with the freedom to participate in athletic competitions fairly and with the competition they expected when they chose to compete. While this is not currently a hot button issue in our great state, this legislation would serve as a preemptive measure to ensure that every single student athlete in Georgia has the ability to compete in fair and open competition. The point here is to make sure that every child has the opportunity to compete. This is about inclusion and transparency.”
The Student Athlete Protection Act would prohibit state, county, municipality or other local government entity, such as public recreation centers or public schools, from hosting or utilizing its facilities for athletic competitions in which a person who is not a biological male is allowed to participate in athletic events conducted exclusively for males as well as a person who is not a biological female is allowed to participate in athletic events conducted exclusively for females. These facilities would include athletic facilities, stadiums, fields, structures or other property.
To view a copy of the pre-filed legislation, please click here.
Representative Philip Singleton represents the citizens of District 71, which includes portions of Fayette and Coweta counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2019.
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