53G-6-1004.  Eligibility for interscholastic activities.

(1) 

Terms Used In Utah Code 53G-6-1004

  • Athletic association: means an association, as that term is defined in Section 53G-7-1101. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
  • Birth certificate: means an official record of an individual's date of birth, place of birth, sex, and parentage, including a supplementary certificate of birth or birth certificate amendment and amendment history as provided in Sections 26-2-10 and 26-2-11. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Commission: means the School Activity Eligibility Commission created in Section 53G-6-1003. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Does not correspond with the sex designation: means that a student's sex designation for an interscholastic activity in which a student seeks participation does not correspond with the sex designation on the student's birth certificate or an amendment, including the amendment history, to the student's birth certificate that the Division of Vital Records and Statistics provides. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Gender identity: means the same as that term is defined in Section 34A-5-102. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Gender-designated: means that an interscholastic activity or facility is designated specifically for female or male students. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Interscholastic activity: means an activity in which a student represents the student's school in the activity in competition against another school. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Person: means :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Student: means a student who is enrolled in a public school that participates in interscholastic activities. See Utah Code 53G-6-1001
  • Writing: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  Notwithstanding any state board rule or policy of an athletic association, and except as provided in Subsections (1)(b) and (c):

(i)  once a student has obtained the eligibility approval of the commission under Subsection (2), the student may participate in a gender-designated interscholastic activity that does not correspond with the sex designation on the student’s birth certificate; and

(ii)  if a student does not obtain the eligibility approval of the commission under Subsection (2), the student may not participate in a gender-designated interscholastic activity that does not correspond with the sex designation on the student’s birth certificate.

(b)  A student who has undergone or is undergoing a gender transition shall obtain the eligibility approval of the commission under Subsection (2) to participate in a gender-designated interscholastic activity that corresponds with the student’s gender identity.

(c)  Nothing in this subsection prohibits a student from participating in a gender-designated interscholastic activity in accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 106.41(b).

(2) 

(a)  When a student registers with an athletic association to participate in a gender-designated interscholastic activity:

(i)  a student who has undergone or is undergoing a gender transition shall notify the athletic association of the student’s transition and the need for the commission’s eligibility approval as described in Subsection (1)(b);

(ii)  the athletic association shall notify the commission of:

(A)  a student for whom an eligibility determination of the commission is required due to the sex designation on the student’s birth certificate not corresponding with the gender designation of the gender-designated interscholastic activity in which the student seeks to participate or the student’s notice of a gender transition under Subsection (1)(a)(ii); and

(B)  the association’s ad hoc appointment to the commission described in Subsection 53G-6-1003(2)(a)(iv); and

(iii)  the commission shall notify the student described in Subsection (2)(a) regarding the process for determining the student’s eligibility for the activity under this section.

(b)  The commission shall:

(i)  schedule a closed meeting to consider a student’s eligibility to be held within 30 days after the day on which the commission receives the notification described in Subsection (2)(a); and

(ii)  notify the relevant athletic association and the student’s parents or legal guardians of the scheduled meeting.

(c)  Before the meeting described in Subsection (2)(b):

(i)  the student for whom the commission has scheduled the meeting or the student’s parent or guardian is not required but may submit to the commission any information the student wishes to disclose to the commission that may be relevant to the commission’s eligibility determination, including information regarding:

(A)  the gender-designated interscholastic activities for which the student seeks eligibility;

(B)  the gender-designated interscholastic activities in which the student has previously participated; and

(C)  the student’s physical characteristics or medical treatments that support the student’s eligibility for the specific gender-designated interscholastic activity;

(ii)  the commission may request additional evidence from the student that is:

(A)  limited to the extent possible to protect the student’s privacy; and

(B)  only directly relevant to the commission’s eligibility determination; and

(iii)  the commission may offer the student a voucher to cover the cost of a diagnostic assessment if the commission makes a request for medical information under Subsection (2)(c)(ii) for which the student’s insurance does not provide coverage or reimbursement for the diagnostic that:

(A)  would provide the requested information; and

(B)  is not free or otherwise readily available to the student.

(d)  During the meeting described in Subsection (2)(b):

(i)  only the following individuals may be present or participate electronically:

(A)  the student for whom the commission is meeting to make an eligibility determination;

(B)  the student’s parents or guardians;

(C)  the members and necessary staff of the commission; and

(D)  any medical professionals or other witnesses the student chooses to include to support the student’s eligibility;

(ii)  attendees may participate in person or electronically; and

(iii)  the commission shall:

(A)  hear the information that supports the student’s eligibility;

(B)  deliberate the facts relevant to the student’s physical characteristics and eligibility in camera or otherwise after temporarily excusing from the meeting the student, the student’s parents or legal guardians, and any medical professionals or other witnesses whom the student includes; and

(C)  render the commission’s eligibility determination in accordance with Subsection (3) or request additional information and schedule an additional commission meeting to be held within 30 days of the meeting and in accordance with this Subsection (2)(d) to discuss the additional information and render the commission’s eligibility determination.

(3)  In making an eligibility determination, the commission, after considering whether the student’s assertion of a gender identity is consistent with the statutory definition of gender identity as that term is defined in Section 34A-5-102, including the implications for the student’s mental health of participating in the gender-designated interscholastic activity, shall:

(a)  make a determination regarding whether, when measured against the relevant baseline range described in Subsection 53G-6-1003(8), granting the student’s eligibility would:

(i)  present a substantial safety risk to the student or others that is significantly greater than the inherent risks of the given activity; or

(ii)  likely give the student a material competitive advantage when compared to students of the same age competing in the relevant gender-designated activity, including consideration of the student’s previous history of participation in gender-designated interscholastic activities; and

(b)  record the commission’s decision and rationale in writing and provide the written decision to the student within 30 days after the day on which the commission renders an eligibility decision under Subsection (3)(a) in a meeting described in Subsection (2)(b).

(4) 

(a)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in Subsections (3)(b) and (4)(b), the commission may not disclose:

(i)  the name of a student whose eligibility the commission will consider, is considering, or has considered; or

(ii)  the commission’s determination regarding a student’s eligibility.

(b)  The commission shall disclose the commission’s determination of a student’s eligibility for a given gender-designated interscholastic activity to the relevant athletic association, only for the purpose of confirming whether the student is eligible for the interscholastic activity.

(c) 

(i)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an athletic association may not disclose the information described in Subsections (4)(a)(i) and (ii).

(ii)  Nothing in this Subsection (4) prohibits an athletic association from affirming that a student is eligible if the eligibility of a student is questioned.

Enacted by Chapter 478, 2022 General Session

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