Tennessee bills prohibiting transgender school athletes from participating in sports events passes Senate

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(originally posted by WGNS Radio)

On Monday, the Tennessee Senate passed two bills prohibiting transgender school students from playing school sports opposite of the sex they were born as.

Tennessee Senate Bill 2153 “prohibits males from participating in public higher education sports that are designated for females…” Senator Joey Hensley from Hohenwald, Tennessee explained why his bill targeted males…

While SB 2153 passed on Monday with 27-Ayes and 4-Nays, the House version of the bill (HB 2316) will be heard in the Finance Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday (April 13, 2022). Senator Dawn White from Murfreesboro voted in favor of SB 2153 under the Senate Education Committee.

The second Senate Bill was bill 1861, which withholds funding if a school refuses to determine a student’s gender for purposes of participation in school sports.

The Tennessee Senate moved to substitute and conform Senate Bill 1861 to House Bill 1895, allowing for its passage. Representing Rutherford County in that vote was Senator Dawn White, under the Senate Education Committee, who voted in favor of it passing.

House Bill 1895 was passed on Monday with 26-Ayes and 5-Nays. In Rutherford County, State Representatives Tim Rudd, Mike Sparks and Bryan Terry voted in favor of the bill to withhold a portion of funding from schools refusing to determine a student’s gender for the purpose of sports participation.