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) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Promotion of Youth Sports Act of 2024’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Title IX of the Education Amendments Act 
of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) broadly prohibits 
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discrimination and differential treatment in edu-
cation programs and activities, including in school 
sports, on the basis of sex (including sexual orienta-
tion, gender identity, sex characteristics, and preg-
nancy and related conditions). 
(2) The Supreme Court held in Bostock v. 
Clayton County that discrimination tied to sexual 
orientation or transgender status ‘‘necessarily entails 
discrimination based on sex; the first cannot happen 
without the second’’. 
(3) For decades, Federal courts have consist-
ently found that title IX protects LGBTQI+ stu-
dents, including the right of transgender and non-
binary students to access sex-separated school 
spaces, like bathrooms and sports programs. This 
remains the strong majority position among Federal 
courts of appeals and Federal district courts fol-
lowing Bostock. 
(4) The intent of the initial title IX regulations 
with respect to sex-separated sports teams was to 
foster the equitable participation of women and girls 
in school sports where they have been systematically 
excluded and denied such opportunities, so that 
women and girls could be given the resources and 
opportunities to develop their athleticism, not to en-
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force separation based on purportedly innate dif-
ferences between men and women. 
(5) Playing school sports improves students’ 
academic performance, graduation rates, and attend-
ance, develops social and leadership skills, and pro-
vides students with a support network. These oppor-
tunities and impacts are particularly important for 
children from marginalized groups like transgender 
children, who face disproportionate hostility and dis-
crimination at school. 
(6) Transgender youth who are supported, in-
cluded, and protected from discrimination in school 
can thrive and learn just like their peers. 
Transgender youth who report being supported and 
protected from discrimination consistently have 
lower rates of negative health outcomes, including 
suicide attempts. Transgender youth who play school 
sports report higher grades and self-esteem, and 
lower rates of depression and anxiety. 
(7) More than 11 percent of LGBTQ youth 
have reported being discouraged from playing sports 
due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, 
and 16 percent of LGBTQ+ students reported in 
2021 that their K–12 schools barred them from 
playing on the correct sports team. 
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(8) Since 2008, 17 States and the District of 
Columbia have passed laws affirmatively protecting 
transgender students’ right to participate in inter-
scholastic athletics. In those States, participation 
numbers for women and girls in athletics have re-
mained steady or increased. As of 2021, in the 
States that have banned transgender student partici-
pation, participation rates have dropped among all 
girls. 
(9) There were fewer athletic participation op-
portunities for high school girls in 2019 than existed 
for boys in 1972, when title IX was enacted. 
(10) On the Division 1 level, colleges spend $2 
on mens sports for every $1 spent on womens 
sports. In all collegiate athletics, there are 60,000 
more athletic opportunities for men than for women. 
(11) Girls and women’s high school sports 
teams are consistently given less support and over-
sight, leading to them receiving fewer resources and 
funding than boys’ and men’s teams, including 
1,300,000 more high school sports spots for boys 
compared to girls, and allowing a pervasive culture 
of abuse targeting young women to fester. 
(12) Attacks on transgender children in sports 
also negatively impact cisgender girls who do not 
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conform to traditional gender stereotypes, particu-
larly Black and Brown girls, through arbitrary ques-
tioning of the girlhood of children and invasive and 
dangerous sex verification practices. This includes 
forcing young students to submit documentation of 
their reproductive information or even submit to 
genital exams as a condition of playing. 
(13) Over decades, a strong consensus has de-
veloped among Federal courts that title IX has al-
ways protected LGBTQI+ youth in school, including 
the right of transgender youth to participate in 
school sports. These decisions indicate that the jus-
tifications advanced thus far by anti-trans legislators 
are unlikely to survive the heightened scrutiny re-
quired by the Equal Protection Clause of the Four-
teenth Amendment to the United States Constitu-
tion. 
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE YOUTH SPORTS 
PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education 
(hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish 
a program to award grants to eligible elementary schools 
and secondary schools (as such terms are defined in sec-
tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
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Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) to promote youth sports 
programs. 
(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds awarded under 
this section shall be used by grantees to promote 
and increase access to youth sports by— 
(A) expanding offerings of available ath-
letic programs; 
(B) providing direct financial support for 
facilities, equipment, uniforms, travel, and other 
athletic program expenses to reduce barriers 
that limit participation in existing athletic pro-
grams; or 
(C) carrying out the activities described in 
both subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
(2) GRANT
PERIOD.—Grant funds awarded 
under this section shall be available for one aca-
demic year. Any unused funds that remain at the 
end of such academic year shall be returned to the 
Secretary to award additional grants under this sec-
tion. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—An elementary or secondary school 
shall be eligible for a grant under this section only if such 
school is in compliance with the requirements of title IX 
of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 
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et seq.) and the regulations implementing such title under 
part 106 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
succeeding regulations. 
(d) APPLICATION; PRIORITY.— 
(1) APPLICATION.—An eligible elementary or 
secondary school desiring a grant under this section 
shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such informa-
tion as the Secretary may require. Such application 
shall include— 
(A) a description of the proposed pro-
grams, activities, and direct financial support to 
be provided in whole or in part with grant 
funds under this section, and the amount of 
grant funds requested for such programs, ac-
tivities, and support; and 
(B) an assurance by the school that, with 
respect to the provision of any program, activ-
ity, or financial support provided in whole or in 
part with grant funds under this section, the 
school will not discriminate on the basis of sex-
ual orientation, gender identity, or sex charac-
teristics (including intersex traits). 
(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
section, the Secretary shall give priority to elemen-
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tary and secondary schools that demonstrate that 
grant funds will be used to reduce barriers that limit 
participation of women and girls in youth sports, 
particularly sports in which women and girls have 
been historically underrepresented, by expanding of-
ferings of available athletic programs for women or 
girls, or providing direct financial support for equip-
ment, uniforms, travel, and other athletic program 
expenses related to participation of women and girls 
in existing athletic programs. 
Æ 
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