Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 424 (2025GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Abbott, Nelson T.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/26/2025

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• broadens the scope of available appointees to the commission;
• modifies quorum requirements for the commission;
• modifies a requirement to establish certain baseline ranges;
• provides that an eligibility determination of the commission is for a given school year;
• provides a standard of proof for eligibility determinations of the commission;
• prohibits public schools from participating with an athletic association that does not provide administrative staff support to the commission;
• provides for the scheduling of commission meetings throughout the school year with certain submission deadlines and ad-hoc meetings for students who do not meet certain deadlines; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

9
53G-6-1001
53G-6-1003
53G-6-1004
53G-7-1102
53G-6-1001
53G-6-1003
53G-6-1004
53G-7-1102
0
School Activity Eligibility Commission Amendments
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Nelson T. Abbott
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends provisions regarding the School Activity Eligibility Commission 
(commission).
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
broadens the scope of available appointees to the commission;
modifies quorum requirements for the commission;
modifies a requirement to establish certain baseline ranges;
provides that an eligibility determination of the commission is for a given school year;
provides a standard of proof for eligibility determinations of the commission;
prohibits public schools from participating with an athletic association that does not 
provide administrative staff support to the commission;
provides for the scheduling of commission meetings throughout the school year with 
certain submission deadlines and ad hoc meetings for students who do not meet certain 
deadlines; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
53G-6-1001
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 340
53G-6-1003
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 524
53G-6-1004
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 524
53G-7-1102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 46
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
53G-6-1001
 is amended to read:
53G-6-1001
. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1)
"Athletic association" means an association, as that term is defined in Section 
53G-7-1101
.
(2)
"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 
26B-8-110
 and 
26B-8-111
.
(3)
"Commission" means the School Activity Eligibility Commission created in Section 
53G-6-1003
.
(4)
"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.
(5)
"Female-designated" means that an interscholastic activity is designated specifically for 
female students.
(6)
"Gender-designated" means that an interscholastic activity or facility is designated 
specifically for female or male students.
(7)
"Gender identity" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
34A-5-102
.
(8)
"Interscholastic activity" means an activity in which a student represents the student's 
school in the activity in competition against another school.
(9)
"Male-designated" means that an interscholastic activity is designated specifically for 
male students.
(10)
"Student" means a student who is enrolled in a public school that participates in 
interscholastic activities.
(11)
"Unamended birth certificate" means a birth certificate:
(a)
with no amendment history; or
(b)
with an amendment history that:
(i)
does not include gender-related amendments; or
(ii)
includes gender-related amendments that only:
(A)
correct an error or omission resulting from a scrivener's error under 
Subsection 
26B-8-107(2)
; or
(B)
correct a misidentification of birth sex for an intersex individual under 
Subsection 
26B-8-107(2)
.
Section 2. Section 
53G-6-1003
 is amended to read:
53G-6-1003
. School Activity Eligibility Commission -- Baseline range.
(1)
There is created the School Activity Eligibility Commission.
(2)
(a)
The commission shall consist of the following members:
(i)
the following two members whom the president of the Senate appoints:
(A)
a mental health professional; and
(B)
a statistician with expertise in the analysis of medical data;
(ii)
the following two members whom the speaker of the House of Representatives 
appoints:
(A)
a 
board-certified 
physician with expertise in gender identity healthcare
, 
including an endocrinologist, a family medicine physician, or a pediatrician
; 
and
(B)
a sports physiologist
, an exercise physiologist, a sports medicine physician, a 
pediatrician with experience in youth sports, or an orthopedist or orthopedic 
surgeon
;
(iii)
the following two members whom the governor appoints:
(A)
a representative of an athletic association; and
(B)
an athletic trainer who serves student athletes on the collegiate level; and
(iv)
one ad hoc member, serving on a case-by-case basis, who is:
(A)
appointed by the athletic association in which the relevant student's school 
competes; and
(B)
a certified high school coach or official who coaches or officiates in a separate 
region or classification from the relevant student's school and in the sport in 
which the relevant student seeks eligibility.
(b)
An athletic association may prepare and communicate the association's sport-specific 
appointments described in Subsection (2)(a)(iv) in preparation for student requests in 
a given sport.
(3)
(a)
A member of the commission described in Subsections (2)(a)(i) through (iii) shall 
serve an initial term of one year, subject to reappointment for subsequent terms of 
two years.
(b)
If a vacancy occurs in the membership of the commission, the individual responsible 
for the appointment of the vacant seat as described in Subsection (2) shall fill the 
vacancy in the same manner as the original appointment.
(4)
(a)
(i)
Except as provided in Subsection (4)(a)(ii)
, 
:
(A)
all members of the commission constitute a quorum of the commission for a 
meeting to determine the eligibility of a student
.
; and
(ii)
(B)
All
all
 members of the commission described in Subsections (2)(a)(i) 
through (iii) constitute a quorum for any meeting other than the meeting 
described in Subsection (4)(a)(i).
(ii)
The commission satisfies the quorum requirements described in Subsection 
(4)(a)(i)
 if no more than one of the commission positions described in Subsections 
(2)(a)(i)
 through (iii) is vacant.
(b)
An action of a majority of a quorum constitutes an action of the commission.
(5)
A majority of the commission members described in Subsections (2)(a)(i) through (iii) 
shall elect a chair from among the members described in Subsections (2)(a)(i) through 
(iii) to:
(a)
schedule meetings of the commission;
(b)
set the agenda of commission meetings; and
(c)
facilitate discussion among the commission's members.
(6)
A commission member:
(a)
may not receive compensation or benefits for the member's service on the 
commission; and
(b)
may receive per diem and reimbursement for travel expenses that the commission 
member incurs as a commission member at the rates that the Division of Finance 
establishes under:
(i)
Sections 
63A-3-106
 and 
63A-3-107
; and
(ii)
rules that the Division of Finance makes under Sections 
63A-3-106
 and 
63A-3-107
.
(7)
The 
commission may enter into an agreement with an athletic 
association to
Department of Government Operations shall
 provide 
administrative 
staff support to the 
commission.
(8)
(a)
The commission shall
, to the extent possible based on the available evidence,
establish a baseline range of physical characteristics for students participating in a 
specific gender-designated activity at a specific age to provide the context for the 
evaluation of an individual student's eligibility for a given gender-designated 
interscholastic activity under Section 
53G-6-1004
.
(b)
In creating the baseline ranges described in Subsection (8)(a), the commission shall 
include the physical characteristics for the age and gender group in a given 
gender-designated interscholastic activity that are relevant to the specific 
interscholastic activity.
(c)
The physical characteristics described in Subsection (8)(b) may include height, 
weight, physical characteristics relevant to the application of the standard described 
in Subsection 
53G-6-1004
(3), or the extent of physical characteristics affected by 
puberty, giving consideration to the practicability of considering the physical 
characteristic when making an assessment of an individual student's eligibility under 
Section 
53G-6-1004
.
(9)
The following records that relate to the application or analysis of or determination under 
this part regarding the eligibility of a specific student shall be classified as a protected 
record under Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act:
(a)
any record of the commission, including any communication between an athletic 
association and the commission; and
(b)
any record that a school or LEA possesses.
(10)
Members of the commission are immune from suit with respect to all acts done and 
actions taken in good faith in carrying out the purposes of this part.
(11)
The commission has no authority in relation to eligibility questions other than 
participation in a gender-designated interscholastic activity under this part.
Section 3. Section 
53G-6-1004
 is amended to read:
53G-6-1004
. Eligibility for interscholastic activities.
(1)
(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), 
unless otherwise prohibited by federal law or a policy of an LEA, 
school, or athletic association that governs the relevant interscholastic athletic 
activity, 
the student 
may
is eligible under this part to
 participate in a 
gender-designated interscholastic activity that does not correspond with the sex 
designation on the student's 
unamended 
birth certificate
 for the given school year
; 
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 
unamended 
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
may only
 participate 
in a gender-designated interscholastic activity that 
corresponds with the student's 
gender identity
does not correspond with the student's sex, as defined in Section 
68-3-12.5
, if the student obtains the eligibility approval of the commission under 
Subsection (2)
.
(c)
Nothing in this 
subsection
part
 prohibits a student from participating in a 
gender-designated interscholastic activity in accordance with 34 C.F.R. Sec. 
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 
unamended 
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 athletic association shall notify the student described in 
this 
Subsection (2)(a) 
regarding the process for determining the student's eligibility for the activity under 
this section.
(b)
The commission shall:
(i)
(A)
schedule at least three non-public meetings throughout the school year to 
consider any student eligibility notifications described in Subsection 
(2)(a)
 the 
commission has received at least 14 days before the date of each meeting; and
(B)
give notice of each scheduled meeting and the associated 14-day deadline to 
the relevant athletic association; and
(i)
(ii)
(A)
if the commission receives a notification described in Subsection 
(2)(a)
after the 14-day deadline described in Subsection 
(2)(b)(i)
, 
schedule 
a
an ad 
hoc
 non-public meeting to consider 
a
the given
 student's eligibility
 to be held 
within 30 days after the day on which the commission receives the notification 
described in Subsection (2)(a)
, occurring within 60 days after the day on 
which the commission receives the notification
; and
(ii)
(B)
notify
give notice of the ad hoc meeting to
 the relevant athletic 
association and the 
student's parents or legal guardians of the scheduled 
meeting
parents of each student seeking an eligibility determination
.
(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.
(e)
The commission may not address the commission's application or analysis of or 
determination under this part regarding the eligibility of a specific student in a public 
meeting or public communication.
(3)
(a)
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:
(i)
make a determination
 based on a preponderance of the evidence
 regarding 
whether, when measured against the relevant baseline range described in 
Subsection 
53G-6-1003
(8), granting the student's eligibility would:
(A)
present a substantial safety risk to the student or others that is significantly 
greater than the inherent risks of the given activity; or
(B)
likely give the student a material competitive advantage
, as the commission 
defines,
 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
(ii)
record the commission's decision and rationale in writing and provide the written 
decision to the athletic commission within 30 days after the day on which the 
commission renders an eligibility decision under 
this 
Subsection (3)(a) in a 
meeting described in Subsection (2)(b).
(b)
Upon receipt of the commission's determination and rationale under Subsection (3)(a), 
the athletic commission shall notify the student and the relevant school or LEA of the 
commission's determination and rationale.
(c)
A school or LEA shall comply with the commission's determination under this 
Subsection (3).
(d)
An eligibility determination of the commission only applies for the relevant school 
year.
(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.
Section 4. Section 
53G-7-1102
 is amended to read:
53G-7-1102
. Public schools prohibited from membership.
(1)
A public school may not be a member of or pay dues to an association that:
(a)
is not in compliance with:
(i)
this part;
(ii)
Title 52, Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings Act;
(iii)
Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act; and
(iv)
Title 67, Chapter 16, Utah Public Officers' and Employees' Ethics Act;
(b)
does not collect each student's 
unamended 
birth certificate
, as that term is defined 
in Section 
53G-6-1001
, or subject to Subsection (3), equivalent documentation, as 
described in Subsection (2)(a), to determine eligibility as a condition of the 
association's registration process for an athletic team, event, or category; or
(c)
does not require a student to provide the student's date of birth and sex as a condition 
of the registration process for an athletic team, event, or category.
(2)
(a)
For a student who is not a United States citizen and who is unable to provide 
a
an 
unamended
 birth certificate, as that term is defined in Section 
53G-6-1001
, the 
association may collect the student's:
(i)
state-issued identification document, including a driver's license or passport; or
(ii)
federally recognized identification document, including a document that the 
Department of Homeland Security issues.
(b)
If a student who is not a United States citizen is unable to provide a document under 
Subsection (2)(a), the association may collect other reliable proof of a student's date 
of birth and sex, including:
(i)
an affidavit from the student's parent or legal guardian attesting:
(A)
to the student's date of birth and sex; and
(B)
that the parent or legal guardian is unable to obtain a document described in 
Subsection (2)(a); and
(ii)
one of the following:
(A)
a religious, hospital, or physician certificate;
(B)
verified school records;
(C)
verified immunization records; or
(D)
documentation from a social service provider.
(3)
(a)
Subsection (1)(b) does not apply to an association for a student who is a homeless 
child or youth, as defined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, 42 
U.S.C. Sec. 11431 et seq.
(b)
For a student who is a homeless child or youth, including an unaccompanied 
homeless child or youth, an association may collect:
(i)
an affidavit from the student's parent or guardian, or the student if the student is an 
unaccompanied homeless child or youth, indicating that the student does not meet 
the necessary requirements to obtain a document described in Subsection (2)(a); 
and
(ii)
a document described in Subsection (2)(b)(ii).
(4)
Nothing in this section limits or impairs an LEA's requirement to verify a student's 
initial review of eligibility to participate in an athletic team, event, or category under 
applicable state or federal law or state board rule, including the student's:
(a)
residency status;
(b)
age;
(c)
sex, verified by the student's 
unamended 
birth certificate, as that term is defined in 
Section 
53G-6-1001
;
(d)
academic requirements; or
(e)
school enrollment capacity.
(5)
Unless otherwise specified, an association's compliance with or an association employee 
or officer's compliance with the provisions described in Subsection (1) does not alter:
(a)
the association's public or private status; or
(b)
the public or private employment status of the employee or officer.
Section 5. 
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on 
May 7, 2025
.
3-14-25 1:52 PM