I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9344 

To require the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant program to 

promote youth sports programs in elementary and secondary schools. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 9, 2024 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. 

TOKUDA, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, 

Mr. CARSON, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, and Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Education to carry out a grant 

program to promote youth sports programs in elementary 

and secondary schools. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Promotion of Youth Sports Act of 2024’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Title IX of the Education Amendments Act 

8 of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) broadly prohibits 


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1 discrimination and differential treatment in edu2 cation programs and activities, including in school 

3 sports, on the basis of sex (including sexual orienta4 tion, gender identity, sex characteristics, and preg5 nancy and related conditions). 

6 (2) The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. 

7 Clayton County that discrimination tied to sexual 

8 orientation or transgender status ‘‘necessarily entails 

9 discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen 

10 without the second’’. 

11 (3) For decades, Federal courts have consist12 ently found that title IX protects LGBTQI+ stu13 dents, including the right of transgender and non14 binary students to access sex-separated school 

15 spaces, like bathrooms and sports programs. This 

16 remains the strong majority position among Federal 

17 courts of appeals and Federal district courts fol18 lowing Bostock. 

19 (4) The intent of the initial title IX regulations 

20 with respect to sex-separated sports teams was to 

21 foster the equitable participation of women and girls 

22 in school sports where they have been systematically 

23 excluded and denied such opportunities, so that 

24 women and girls could be given the resources and 

25 opportunities to develop their athleticism, not to enVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:27 Sep 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9344.IH H9344

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1 force separation based on purportedly innate dif2 ferences between men and women. 

3 (5) Playing school sports improves students’ 

4 academic performance, graduation rates, and attend5 ance, develops social and leadership skills, and pro6 vides students with a support network. These oppor7 tunities and impacts are particularly important for 

8 children from marginalized groups like transgender 

9 children, who face disproportionate hostility and dis10 crimination at school. 

11 (6) Transgender youth who are supported, in12 cluded, and protected from discrimination in school 

13 can thrive and learn just like their peers. 

14 Transgender youth who report being supported and 

15 protected from discrimination consistently have 

16 lower rates of negative health outcomes, including 

17 suicide attempts. Transgender youth who play school 

18 sports report higher grades and self-esteem, and 

19 lower rates of depression and anxiety. 

20 (7) More than 11 percent of LGBTQ youth 

21 have reported being discouraged from playing sports 

22 due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, 

23 and 16 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported in 

24 2021 that their K–12 schools barred them from 

25 playing on the correct sports team. 


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1 (8) Since 2008, 17 States and the District of 

2 Columbia have passed laws affirmatively protecting 

3 transgender students’ right to participate in inter4 scholastic athletics. In those States, participation 

5 numbers for women and girls in athletics have re6 mained steady or increased. As of 2021, in the 

7 States that have banned transgender student partici8 pation, participation rates have dropped among all 

9 girls. 

10 (9) There were fewer athletic participation op11 portunities for high school girls in 2019 than existed 

12 for boys in 1972, when title IX was enacted. 

13 (10) On the Division 1 level, colleges spend $2 

14 on mens sports for every $1 spent on womens 

15 sports. In all collegiate athletics, there are 60,000 

16 more athletic opportunities for men than for women. 

17 (11) Girls and women’s high school sports 

18 teams are consistently given less support and over19 sight, leading to them receiving fewer resources and 

20 funding than boys’ and men’s teams, including 

21 1,300,000 more high school sports spots for boys 

22 compared to girls, and allowing a pervasive culture 

23 of abuse targeting young women to fester. 

24 (12) Attacks on transgender children in sports 

25 also negatively impact cisgender girls who do not 


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1 conform to traditional gender stereotypes, particu2 larly Black and Brown girls, through arbitrary ques3 tioning of the girlhood of children and invasive and 

4 dangerous sex verification practices. This includes 

5 forcing young students to submit documentation of 

6 their reproductive information or even submit to 

7 genital exams as a condition of playing. 

8 (13) Over decades, a strong consensus has de9 veloped among Federal courts that title IX has al10 ways protected LGBTQI+ youth in school, including 

11 the right of transgender youth to participate in 

12 school sports. These decisions indicate that the jus13 tifications advanced thus far by anti-trans legislators 

14 are unlikely to survive the heightened scrutiny re15 quired by the Equal Protection Clause of the Four16 teenth Amendment to the United States Constitu17 tion. 

18 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE YOUTH SPORTS 

19 PROGRAMS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 

22 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish 

23 a program to award grants to eligible elementary schools 

24 and secondary schools (as such terms are defined in sec25 tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 


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1 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) to promote youth sports 

2 programs. 

3 (b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds awarded under 

5 this section shall be used by grantees to promote 

6 and increase access to youth sports by— 

7 (A) expanding offerings of available ath8 letic programs; 

9 (B) providing direct financial support for 

10 facilities, equipment, uniforms, travel, and other 

11 athletic program expenses to reduce barriers 

12 that limit participation in existing athletic pro13 grams; or 

14 (C) carrying out the activities described in 

15 both subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

16 (2) GRANT PERIOD.—Grant funds awarded 

17 under this section shall be available for one aca18 demic year. Any unused funds that remain at the 

19 end of such academic year shall be returned to the 

20 Secretary to award additional grants under this sec21 tion. 

22 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—An elementary or secondary school 

23 shall be eligible for a grant under this section only if such 

24 school is in compliance with the requirements of title IX 

25 of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 


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1 et seq.) and the regulations implementing such title under 

2 part 106 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 

3 succeeding regulations. 

4 (d) APPLICATION; PRIORITY.— 

5 (1) APPLICATION.—An eligible elementary or 

6 secondary school desiring a grant under this section 

7 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

8 time, in such manner, and containing such informa9 tion as the Secretary may require. Such application 

10 shall include— 

11 (A) a description of the proposed pro12 grams, activities, and direct financial support to 

13 be provided in whole or in part with grant 

14 funds under this section, and the amount of 

15 grant funds requested for such programs, ac16 tivities, and support; and 

17 (B) an assurance by the school that, with 

18 respect to the provision of any program, activ19 ity, or financial support provided in whole or in 

20 part with grant funds under this section, the 

21 school will not discriminate on the basis of sex22 ual orientation, gender identity, or sex charac23 teristics (including intersex traits). 

24 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

25 section, the Secretary shall give priority to elemenVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:27 Sep 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9344.IH H9344

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1 tary and secondary schools that demonstrate that 

2 grant funds will be used to reduce barriers that limit 

3 participation of women and girls in youth sports, 

4 particularly sports in which women and girls have 

5 been historically underrepresented, by expanding of6 ferings of available athletic programs for women or 

7 girls, or providing direct financial support for equip8 ment, uniforms, travel, and other athletic program 

9 expenses related to participation of women and girls 

10 in existing athletic programs. 

Æ 


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