State Sen. Kim Jackson has introduced a bill calling for funding equity in girls’ sports. The bill addresses real issues of fairness and safety, she said, in contrast to Republican bills seeking to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.
Jackson, the first openly gay state senator elected to the Georgia General Assembly, introduced Senate Bill 41 on Feb. 4. Named the “Equal Opportunities in Girls’ Sports,” the bill would require that girls’ and boys’ sports teams receive comparable and equivalent funds, facility access, equipment, and supplies.
Jackson’s bill was filed as Senate Bill 1, dubbed the “Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act” to prohibit students from competing on teams that do not match the sex on their birth certificates, passed through committee.
Jackson said the Republicans anti-transgender legislation is “irrelevant and rancorous.”
“If we want to have a real conversation about true ‘fairness’ and ‘safety’ in girls’ sports, let’s talk about how girls’ teams are made to practice late at night or early in the morning when it’s still dark outside,” Jackson said in a news release.
“Let’s talk about how girls’ soccer coaches, who work twice as long — averaging 20 games a season — make one-third the pay of the football coaches averaging 10 games a season,” she said. “Or how some girls’ sports teams are assigned teacher supervisors with no coaching experience because the pay inequity is so steep that the qualified coaches won’t take the job,” Jackson said.
SB 41 would require that girls’ and boys’ sports teams receive comparable and equivalent funds, facility access, equipment, and supplies. This includes providing equipment and supplies, scheduling games and practices, and providing travel allowances.
SB 41 would also require the assignment and compensation of coaches and academic tutors for students, including whether the compensation is equivalent to the time spent coaching.
The bill also introduces a private right of action, allowing students and parents to sue the school district or organization if they, their team, or their coach were denied unequal treatment, Jackson said.
“If we want to have a real conversation about leveling the playing field, let’s talk about the severe lack of equipment provided to teams, like the six soccer balls given to girls’ soccer teams in South DeKalb, or resorting to raising operating funds through athletic booster clubs and student fees to ensure they have proper equipment,” Jackson said.
“Let’s talk about the girls who never even get the chance to join a team because they can’t afford the fees at their public school,” she said.
Democrats expressed dismay that the state Senate would lead off the legislative session targeting transgender students rather than focusing on such issues as Medicaid expansion, investment in public schools or lowering the cost of living in Georgia.
Jackson and others say the anti-trans bills would “deputize parents to playing the role of gender police, giving the full right to challenge the gender status of anyone they choose.”
“At the end of the day, our schools should be focused on providing the best possible education and helping to improve the well-being of all students, in the classroom and on the field; not actively harming students’ mental health or creating a hostile environment by singling out certain students,” Jackson said.
