Iowa House Passes Bill Restricting Transgender Athletes in College Sports

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun issued two executive orders to keep state funds from promoting gender identity and ban transgender women from competing in women's sports at public or private universities.

The orders also mean Indiana driver's licenses can only be issued with a designation of "male" or "female." Currently, 239 licenses have been issued with an "X" designation for sex. Those licenses remain valid, but people cannot renew them with the "X" designation.

Braun's first order called on the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to review post-secondary athletic programs to ensure compliance with a 2020 Title IX rule to effectively ban transgender women from women's college sports. His expects a "follow-up review in 2026" to "evaluate any changes to such policies by Indiana's state educational institutions and report its findings" in a report by the end of 2026.

The order follows an executive order made by President Donald Trump, which intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women's sports. Trump's 2024 campaign promise to "keep men out of women's sports" resonated with many voters.

According to the order, "modern gender ideology is inconsistent with this fundamental and deeply rooted legal distinction between men and women. Modern gender ideology attempts to replace the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity."

"‘Gender identity’ reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex. Modern gender ideology asserts the false claim that men can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and it would require all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true."

The order goes on to say state funds will not be used to promote gender ideology, and the state's executive branch will not issue "statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications or other messages that promote or otherwise inculcate modern gender technology."

Braun's orders came a day after federal legislation aimed at bar transgender women and girls nationwide from participating in school athletic competitions designated for female athletes failed to advance.

“Make no mistake, Tuesday’s Executive Orders are not pro-Indiana women; they are anti-transgender Hoosiers. Like other Indiana elected officials, the Governor is trying to erase any state recognition of Transgender Hoosiers and their families. If this order is interpreted to apply to basic government functions like drivers licenses, it will put transgender people in our state at risk of harm.

“Unfortunately, this is just the latest example of the Governor using his first 100 days to target various groups of people in the state. His Executive Order on immigration needlessly created a wave of terror among Indiana’s immigrant communities. His Executive Order leading to the release of terminated pregnancy reports, against the guidance of Indiana’s Department of Health, created anxiety among many Hoosier women, particularly those who have had to access or may need to access an abortion under the extremely narrow exceptions to the state’s abortion ban. 

“The Governor came into office promising to focus on education, the economic health of families, quality of life for Hoosiers, and government efficiency. Instead, he is irresponsibly wielding executive authority to put into practice the beliefs of a small number of Hoosiers who don’t like transgender people and immigrants or support medical privacy for women in the state. His actions are harming residents who just want to contribute to the health and well-being of their communities, diminishing our state in the process.

“ACLU of Indiana and our partners in all 92 counties have a different vision for our state. We believe Indiana works best when it respects basic constitutional rights and principles and treats everyone who lives here with dignity and respect. And we won’t stop fighting until our state’s laws and polices reflect that belief.”

Chris Daley, executive director of ACLU of Indiana

Statement

“Make no mistake, Tuesday’s Executive Orders are not pro-Indiana women; they are anti-transgender Hoosiers. Like other Indiana elected officials, the Governor is trying to erase any state recognition of Transgender Hoosiers and their families. If this order is interpreted to apply to basic government functions like drivers licenses, it will put transgender people in our state at risk of harm.

“Unfortunately, this is just the latest example of the Governor using his first 100 days to target various groups of people in the state. His Executive Order on immigration needlessly created a wave of terror among Indiana’s immigrant communities. His Executive Order leading to the release of terminated pregnancy reports, against the guidance of Indiana’s Department of Health, created anxiety among many Hoosier women, particularly those who have had to access or may need to access an abortion under the extremely narrow exceptions to the state’s abortion ban.

“The Governor came into office promising to focus on education, the economic health of families, quality of life for Hoosiers, and government efficiency. Instead, he is irresponsibly wielding executive authority to put into practice the beliefs of a small number of Hoosiers who don’t like transgender people and immigrants or support medical privacy for women in the state. His actions are harming residents who just want to contribute to the health and well-being of their communities, diminishing our state in the process.

“ACLU of Indiana and our partners in all 92 counties have a different vision for our state. We believe Indiana works best when it respects basic constitutional rights and principles and treats everyone who lives here with dignity and respect. And we won’t stop fighting until our state’s laws and polices reflect that belief.”

Chris Daley, executive director of ACLU of Indiana