Text of WA SB 5097 (2026)

AN ACT Relating to safeguarding competitiveness in girls' 1 interscholastic athletic activities; amending RCW 28A.600.200; adding 2 a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 3 49.60 RCW; and creating a new section. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON: 5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that girls' sports 6 are a key element of public education in Washington state. Competing 7 in sports gives girls opportunities for achieving excellence, teaches 8 the value of hard work and discipline, cultivates life skills of 9 teamwork that extend beyond the playing field, and creates lasting 10 relationships among competitors, coaches, parents, and the entire 11 interscholastic athletics community. 12 The legislature further finds that preserving fair competition in 13 girls' interscholastic athletic activities is essential for producing 14 the best educational experience for girls who choose to compete in 15 sports. Therefore, the state has an important interest in 16 safeguarding the competitiveness of girls' interscholastic athletic 17 activities. 18 The legislature has previously authorized the Washington 19 interscholastic activities association or other voluntary nonprofit 20 entity to supervise and regulate interscholastic sports. The 21 S-0024.2 SENATE BILL 5097 State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session By Senators Warnick and Short Prefiled 12/20/24. p. 1 SB 5097 legislature now intends to clarify that the association's and 1 entity's role includes regulating participation in girls' athletic 2 activities for the purpose of promoting fair competition and safety. 3 Sec. 2. RCW 28A.600.200 and 2012 c 155 s 2 are each amended to 4 read as follows: 5 (1) Each school district board of directors is hereby granted and 6 shall exercise the authority to control, supervise, and regulate the 7 conduct of interschool athletic activities and other interschool 8 extracurricular activities of an athletic, cultural, social, or 9 recreational nature for students of the district. 10 (2) A board of directors may delegate control, supervision, and 11 regulation of any such activity to the Washington interscholastic 12 activities association or any other voluntary nonprofit entity and 13 compensate such entity for services provided, subject to the 14 following conditions: 15 (((1))) (a) The voluntary nonprofit entity shall not discriminate 16 in connection with employment or membership upon its governing board, 17 or otherwise in connection with any function it performs, on the 18 basis of race, creed, national origin, sex, or marital status; 19 (((2)(a))) (b) The school board of directors must consent to 20 abide by the competitiveness rules for interscholastic athletic 21 activities adopted by the association or other voluntary nonprofit 22 pursuant to section 3 of this act; and 23 (c)(i) Any rules and policies adopted and applied by the 24 voluntary nonprofit entity that governs student participation in any 25 interschool activity shall be written; and 26 (((b))) (ii) Such rules and policies shall provide for notice of 27 the reasons and a fair opportunity to contest such reasons prior to a 28 final determination to reject a student's request to participate in 29 or to continue in an interschool activity. 30 (3)(a) The association or other voluntary nonprofit entity is 31 authorized to impose penalties for rules violations upon coaches, 32 school district administrators, school administrators, and students, 33 as appropriate, to punish the offending party or parties; 34 (b) No penalty may be imposed on a student or students unless the 35 student or students knowingly violated the rules or unless a student 36 gained a significant competitive advantage or materially 37 disadvantaged another student through a rule violation; 38 p. 2 SB 5097 (c) Any penalty that is imposed for rules violations must be 1 proportional to the offense; 2 (d) Any decision resulting in a penalty shall be considered a 3 decision of the school district conducting the activity in which the 4 student seeks to participate or was participating and may be appealed 5 pursuant to RCW 28A.600.205 and 28A.645.010 through 28A.645.030. 6 (4) The school districts, Washington interscholastic activities 7 association districts, and leagues that participate in the 8 interschool extracurricular activities shall not impose more severe 9 penalties for rule violations than can be imposed by the rules of the 10 association or the voluntary nonprofit entity. 11 (5) As used in this section and RCW 28A.600.205, "knowingly" 12 means having actual knowledge of or acting with deliberate ignorance 13 or reckless disregard for the prohibition involved. 14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 15 RCW to read as follows: 16 (1) The Washington interscholastic activities association or 17 other voluntary nonprofit entity delegated responsibility over 18 interscholastic athletic activities under RCW 28A.600.200 shall adopt 19 competitiveness rules designed to create and foster opportunities for 20 fair competition in girls' athletics. 21 (2) The competitiveness rules adopted under this section must: 22 (a) Be substantially related to accomplishing the following 23 objective: Ensuring ample opportunities for all student athletes to 24 participate in appropriately competitive events and contests that 25 align with the skill level of the competitors regardless of gender 26 identity; and 27 (b) Appropriately consider the effects of physiological and 28 hormonal variation among athletes as it relates to the 29 competitiveness and safety of events and contests, which may include 30 rules that permit the exclusion of individual competitors from girls' 31 athletics events and contests where the competitor would have an 32 unfair advantage based on endocrine characteristics. 33 (3) Rules adopted under this section may not authorize a sex 34 verification or dispute process, but may require age-appropriate 35 sampling for relevant hormone levels to determine whether an 36 individual will have an unfair competitive advantage or pose a safety 37 risk in a girls' event or contest. 38 p. 3 SB 5097 (4) The directive to adopt competitiveness rules under this 1 section does not require, and may not be construed to require, the 2 abolition of distinct boys' and girls' teams, events, or contests in 3 interscholastic athletics. Interscholastic athletic teams, events, 4 and contests are encouraged to be organized into distinct activities 5 for boys and girls. 6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 49.60 7 RCW to read as follows: 8 Decisions regarding a student athlete made pursuant to the 9 competitiveness rules adopted under section 3 of this act do not 10 constitute unlawful discrimination and are not subject to this 11 chapter. 12 --- END --- p. 4 SB 5097