SUMMARY: LC 49 0782
The bill is called the "Save Girls' Sports Act" although provisions apply to both genders.
It prohibits any public school system, local public school, or participating private school (defined in the bill as a private school in GA whose students or teams compete against a local public school or local public school system in the state) in the state from operating, sponsoring, or facilitating interscholastic or intramural athletics that permit a person whose gender is male to participate in any interscholastic or intramural athletics that are designated for females, unless there is not an equivalent interscholastic or intramural program for males.
The same prohibitions apply to allowing a person whose gender is female to participate in athletics designated for males unless there is not an equivalent.
Gender is defined in the bill as a person's biological sex which shall be recognized solely based on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth. The student's biological sex recorded on the birth certificate shall be considered accurate if it was included at or near the time of birth.
Any student or his/her parent aggrieved by an alleged violation or anticipated violation shall have a right to file a grievance complaint with the employee designated by the district to coordinate compliance efforts regarding equal athletic opportunities per 20-2-315(g). The bill requires an immediate decision as to whether a violation has occurred or is about to.
If the grievance is rejected, the complaining party has the right of an immediate appeal to the local board for relief.
The aggrieved also have a private right of action to enforce these provisions through injunctive or declaratory relief in the superior court in the county in which the school district resides. If they prevail they are entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys' fees, court costs, and expenses of litigation but not monetary damages.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022 |