Please, vote NO on HB1572 when it comes before the House K-12 subcommittee on March 3.

I oppose the exclusion of transgender students from school athletics.  Everyone deserves the opportunity to participate and draw on their strengths and talents.  The law should not be used to stigmatize a group of students, nor should it be used to micromanage school athletics.  The TSSAA exists to regulate school sports.

Texas has tried this policy with failing results. Consider the example of transgender wrestler Mack Beggs.  Though he wanted to wrestle in the boys' division, he was forced to wrestle in the girls' division, where he won two state titles, because his birth certificate said he was female. 

This bill will pit school officials against transgender students by imposing outrageous fines against school officials who are not in compliance.  It also threatens the loss of school funding. 

This bill would create a bureaucratic and legal quagmire for schools as they try to maintain student privacy while using birth certificates to establish a student's gender.  Many students move to Tennessee from other states every year.  Tennessee borders eight states.  The states have varied policies on amended birth certificates.  There is no way to guarantee equitable enforcement or maintain student privacy.

This bill is detrimental to students and creates numerous headaches for school personnel.

Thank you for considering my views.