Voter guide: Prop 134 asks Colorado voters to bar transgender student athletes from certain school sports

Colorado voters will decide on Proposition 134 in the upcoming election, a measure that seeks to prohibit transgender students from participating in school or college sports teams corresponding with their gender identity. If successful, the ban would take effect at the start of the 2027 school year. The current landscape in Colorado includes a range of policies from allowing transgender athletes to participate to outright bans, depending on individual districts.

Similar propositions are on the ballot in Washington, Arizona, and Nebraska, aiming to establish similar bans at the state level.

The proposal would compel schools and colleges to implement new policies designating each athletic team as either male, female, or coeducational. Students with biological male characteristics would be barred from joining female teams, while those with biological female characteristics would be barred from joining male teams, unless there is no female team in a specific sport.

Coeducational teams would be open to all students. The measure leaves the determination of a student's gender to school officials, and they could use doctor's notes or DNA cheek swabs to verify gender. The cost of these swabs, which determine the presence of male or female gender markers, could be several hundred dollars.

It remains unclear how many transgender students participate in school sports in Colorado, as no official tracking exists. Those opposing the measure argue it could lead to invasive gender assessments, particularly for tall, strong, or athletic students perceived as male. Proponents, however, claim the measure aims to safeguard girls' safety, opportunities, and dignity in sports. They argue that requiring participants to prove biological sex eliminates any potential for skepticism or discrimination against female athletes.