For LGBTQ mental health support, call the Trevor Project鈥檚 24/7 at 866-488-7386. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the by calling 800-273-8255 or texting 741741.
Julia wouldn鈥檛 describe herself as the 鈥渂iggest sports person鈥� in the world. She鈥檚 not into basketball or football. She played soccer when she was little, but it didn鈥檛 stick as she got older.
What she鈥檚 really into are sports like cross country and track, which she feels are smaller in scale and more intimate. She trained with her dad, who used to run track in high school, and soon discovered she had a knack for it.
鈥淗e taught me the form and how to run, and I just fell in love with running hurdles because I was good at it, but also, it just gave me a feeling that you don't really feel in a lot of other situations,鈥� she said. It feels like putting life on pause for 20 seconds or so, she added, and 鈥測ou only focus on what you鈥檙e doing and how to do it right.鈥�
It鈥檚 this feeling Julia chases when she practices 鈥� but as a transgender athlete, she hasn鈥檛 been able to pursue it in competition. Because of statewide rules, she鈥檚 essentially barred from competing against other girls.
"The government and Greg Abbott think that I'm good because of how I was born, but really, I'm good because I know how to do the form, and I鈥檓 good because I practice my ass off," said Julia, a transgender girl who attends high school in Central Texas and has requested to use a pseudonym and remain anonymous to protect her privacy. "Honestly, with the leadership that we have right now and who all is in charge and making the rules, I don't think that I'm going to be able to run."
Last year, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 25, which requires that student athletes play on sports teams that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate, and the certificate athletes present must have been issued near the time of birth. The law went into effect Tuesday, making to enact similar legislation.
Supporters of the law argue it is necessary to State Rep. , R-Spring, said one of her main reasons for authoring the bill was to 鈥減rotect girls鈥� safety.鈥� She did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
The law targets transgender youth, a rather small slice of the state鈥檚 population. and it鈥檚 predicted the number of transgender youth is even smaller.
Nevertheless, legislation targeting trans people has been in recent years. The transgender sports bill was part of a litany of anti-trans legislation introduced last year during Texas鈥� four legislative sessions that pushed and have led to on LGBTQ youth, said Ricardo Martinez, executive director of Equality Texas, a statewide advocacy organization for LGBTQ Texans.
鈥淟awmakers have willingly ignored the overwhelming harm that this bill and bills like it has already caused in favor of exploiting our differences and the lack of familiarity that some people may have about transgender people,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淭his we know stokes fear, and it divides us.鈥�
Advocates for transgender youth say they are bracing for the impact of the law鈥檚 implementation and the heightened scrutiny of transgender youth and their bodies. School districts have said they will abide by the law, but it鈥檚 still unclear how that will look in practice and how schools will determine whether a student鈥檚 birth certificate was issued near the time of birth.
Julia, 16, said she鈥檚 been able to practice with the girls team at her school during track season, but she doesn鈥檛 compete in meets. For her, the law means she has to face a 鈥渉arsh truth鈥� 鈥� competing in a sport she loves is something she just won鈥檛 be able to do.
鈥淚 wish I had that sort of idea in my head that this practice would all lead to something,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow after actually realizing that this law is being put into place 鈥� all the practice that I'm going to be doing is going to lead up to nothing because I don't have anywhere to show it off or anywhere to compete.鈥�
Staying in compliance
Although some Republican lawmakers鈥� have said the new law codifies existing rules from the University Interscholastic League, the athletic governing body for public schools in Texas, the law goes further than previous UIL rules. UIL used to allow students to submit legally modified birth certificates, which students may have changed to align with their gender identity.
establishing that an athlete鈥檚 gender would be officially determined by its birth certificate. Under the new law, a modified birth certificate would only be accepted if it was changed to correct a clerical error.
Julia, who鈥檚 currently in the process of getting her gender marker changed on her birth certificate, said she had been optimistic that a new birth certificate would allow her to compete with other girls.
Jamey Harrison, deputy director of UIL, said school districts will be responsible for ensuring they are in compliance with the law, but it鈥檚 not completely clear whether they will be able to determine if a birth certificate is original.
鈥淚t鈥檚 new ground so some of it will be learning as we go,鈥� Harrison said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. 鈥淏ut UIL does not have an investigative arm outside of its member school committees. We don鈥檛 have a bunch of black Suburbans and earpieces and guys going around checking birth certificates, that鈥檚 not the way it works. At the end of the day, the schools are going to have to do the best they can to make sure they鈥檙e in compliance with the law.鈥�
Harrison said if districts don鈥檛 comply with the law they will be subject to certain sanctions and will have to forfeit competition at a minimum.
The Tribune contacted some of the state鈥檚 largest school districts in major metro and surrounding areas to ask them about their plans to comply with the law. Several school districts did not respond to requests for comment and a handful declined to be interviewed.
Deanne Hullender, a spokesperson with the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District, said it 鈥渨ill definitely be following all UIL guidelines and policies provided within this new legislation." Meghan Cone, a spokesperson for the Frisco Independent School District, said operations in her district are not expected to change because the bill 鈥減rimarily codifies existing UIL regulation.鈥�
Enforcement of laws similar to HB 25 have been halted in states like and as litigation battles over the statutes play out in court. A lawsuit in is also challenging that state鈥檚 version of the law.
Shelly Skeen, a senior attorney with Lambda Legal, a national legal organization in support of civil rights for LGBTQ individuals, said the Texas law "certainly brings up questions about equal protection and civil rights."
鈥淚f you're going to treat one set of students differently than another then you're looking, at least in this case, (at) a violation of equal protection, but it's also sex discrimination,鈥� Skeen said.
According to the , current interpretation of Title IX 鈥� a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on the basis of sex in education 鈥� also encompasses gender identity and sexual orientation protections.
Andrea Segovia, senior policy and field strategist with the Texas Education Network of Texas, said her organization is currently focusing on supporting transgender students as the law takes effect by making sure they are connected to mental health resources and helpint educators find the best ways to be allies to LGBTQ youth.
鈥淯nfortunately, we are at a point where it's like a little bit of wait and see,鈥� Segovia said about the law鈥檚 enforcement. 鈥淏ecause we know that UIL affects all public schools, but just like any other law in this state it really depends on how they enforce it.鈥�
Small group, big impact
Transgender people represent a small fraction of the state鈥檚 population, and the population of transgender youth ages 13 to 17 is estimated to be about 13,800, or about 0.7% of teens within that age range, However, Texas is one of the states with the most transgender youths aside from California, Florida and New York.
Harrison said UIL currently doesn鈥檛 keep data on the number of K-12 transgender athletes that participate in school sports.
According to the Trevor Project, a national suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth, about . Transgender youth are less likely to compete compared to their lesbian, gay and bisexual peers, said Casey Pick, Trevor Project鈥檚 senior fellow for advocacy and government affairs.
鈥淢any of these youth tell us that they didn't participate in sports because of fear of harassment discrimination, so that is a reality,鈥� Pick said. 鈥淏ut some of the youth who do participate tell us that it is their one source of relaxation, their place to find camaraderie and teamwork, that they have a lot of fun and sometimes it's the place they feel best about their bodies and who they are.鈥�
Another worry among opponents of the Texas law is the effect it could have on cisgender women that don鈥檛 subscribe to traditional interpretations of what a young girl or woman should look like.
Lis Riley, whose child is a cisgender girl who plays basketball in the Austin Independent School District, said her daughter used to present herself as masculine before but has started to lean back into a feminine identity so she鈥檚 not targeted while participating in sports.
鈥溾�業 need to kind of look like a girl so people don't look at me weird when I'm trying out for the girls basketball team,鈥� essentially is kind of what she's telling me, which is kind of sad to feel like that鈥檚 the world of high school sports in a public school,鈥� Riley said.
Meanwhile, student athletes like Julia are left with virtually no choices if they want to compete.
Amid the current off-season, Julia said she鈥檚 been practicing by running around her neighborhood and sometimes going to her school鈥檚 track. Her coaches have applauded her talent, she said, but she鈥檚 made it clear to them that the only team she feels comfortable being a part of and competing with is the girls鈥� track team.
鈥淚 don't see it as a 鈥榤e鈥� problem. I see it as other people鈥檚 problem,鈥� she said of the Texas law. 鈥淚 kind of accepted that I'm not gonna be able to (compete). I kind of just deal with it. I mean, it sucks but that鈥檚 kind of the harsh reality.鈥�
Disclosure: Equality Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete .
