Text of MA H 584 (2025)

1 of 1 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 297 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 584 The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _________________ PRESENTED BY: John R. Gaskey _________________ To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General Court assembled: The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: An Act to ensure fairness and safety in school sports. _______________ PETITION OF: NAME: DISTRICT/ADDRESS: DATE ADDED: John R. Gaskey 2nd Plymouth 1/8/2025 Katie Ferriera-Aubin 50 Winter St, Rehoboth, MA 02769 1/8/2025 Justin Thurber 5th Bristol 1/8/2025 Marc T. Lombardo 22nd Middlesex 1/23/2025 Steven George Xiarhos 5th Barnstable 1/25/2025 Donald R. Berthiaume, Jr. 5th Worcester 2/10/2025 Nicholas A. Boldyga 3rd Hampden 2/10/2025 Steven S. Howitt 4th Bristol 3/1/2025 1 of 2 HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 297 FILED ON: 1/8/2025 HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 584 By Representative Gaskey of Carver, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 584) of John R. Gaskey and others relative to sports teams at public schools. Education. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts _______________ In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court (2025-2026) _______________ An Act to ensure fairness and safety in school sports. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Chapter 71of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, 2 is hereby amended by inserting the following section: - 3 Section 1E. 4 (a) No public school shall require any student athlete on a single-sex sports team to 5 participate in a match, or any part thereof, against an opposing team that includes one or more 6 athletes of the opposite sex. No penalty, including but not limited to loss of playing time or loss 7 of starting status, shall be imposed by a public school on such a student athlete for refusing to 8 play in such a match. 9 (b) No coach of a single-sex public school sports team shall be penalized by that school 10 for forfeiting a match against an opposing team because such opposing team includes one or 11 more athletes of the opposite sex. 2 of 2 12 (c) The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Massachusetts 13 Interscholastic Athletic Association, or any equivalent school organization or an entity or board 14 that provides athletic officials, including, but not limited to, referees and umpires, for school 15 sports or athletic events shall not penalize any public school, single-sex public school sports 16 team, coach of such a team, or student athlete on such a team, for forfeiting or refusing to play in 17 a match against an opposing team because such opposing team includes one or more athletes of 18 the opposite sex, except that such a forfeit may be recorded as a loss. 19 For the purposes of this section, a “single-sex team” is any team that is designated as 20 either a girls’ team or a boys’ team, as opposed to a team that is designated as co-ed.