This bill amends existing law (RCW 28A.600.200 and RCW 28A.640.020) and adds a new section to chapter 28A.600 RCW. It preserves local school boards’ authority to control interschool athletic and extracurricular activities but allows boards to delegate that authority to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association or another voluntary nonprofit and to compensate that entity. The bill requires such nonprofit governing entities not to discriminate in employment or governing board membership on the basis of race, creed, national origin, sex, or marital status, requires written rules with notice and a fair opportunity to contest denials of student participation, and permits the association or other nonprofit to impose penalties on coaches, administrators, and students subject to specified limits and proportionality. Decisions imposing penalties are treated as decisions of the school district and may be appealed under RCW 28A.600.205 and RCW 28A.645.010–.030. The new section explicitly permits school or association policies that prohibit biologically male students from competing with and against female students in athletic activities that have separate male and female classifications when the activity is intended for female students and is an individual or team competition. For disputes about a student’s sex, districts must request a signed health examination and consent form or a provider statement verifying the student’s biological sex; a health care provider may rely on the student’s reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels during a routine sports physical. The bill defines “knowingly” for purposes of these provisions as actual knowledge or acting with deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard, and it requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and distribute a student interest survey every three years. The act is named the “defending equity in interscholastic sports act.” The text provided does not include the full appeal procedures in RCW 28A.600.205 or RCW 28A.645.010–.030, it does not give a numerical testosterone threshold or detailed medical protocols for verification, and it does not otherwise define “biologically male” beyond the listed verification methods.

If enacted, school districts and the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (or similar nonprofit leagues) would be able to adopt and enforce policies that keep biologically male students out of sports classified for female students, and districts must use a signed health care provider statement verifying a student’s biological sex based on reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenous testosterone levels when a student’s sex is disputed. The superintendent must also run a student-interest survey every three years about male/female participation in specific sports, and any penalties or eligibility decisions imposed by the association are treated as decisions of the district and are subject to appeal under existing appeal laws. Practically, this shifts responsibilities and likely increases administrative work and costs for school districts, leagues, coaches, and health care providers: districts will need to adopt new written policies with notice and contest procedures, request and process medical verification forms, and handle appeals and enforcement actions. Students designated as biologically male who seek to play on female teams are the most affected, as are their families, while health care providers may be asked to make binary verifications without the bill providing numeric testosterone thresholds or detailed medical protocols. The text does not include the appealed statutes or any numeric medical standards, leaving important implementation details and potential legal risks unclear.