Upholding Protections for Trans Children

Maine lawmakers are considering bills that would ban transgender students from participating in school sports. These directly contradict the principles outlined in the Maine Human Rights Act and the values that define our state.

The federal government sued Maine in mid-April for including transgender students in school sports. As that consumes the headlines, important activity is also happening at the State House. There are currently three bills that would either ban transgender girls from school sports, ban trans and non-binary students from using the bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity, or both.

Take action: Ask lawmakers to protect trans kids

Maine is a proudly independent place where all people aspire to live true to themselves without government interference. These Maine values are reflected in current Maine law. But these three bills would upend decades of protections for LGBTQ students and open the door to attacks on bodily autonomy and privacy for other groups.

The Maine Human Rights Act was first adopted in 1971. It was expanded in 2005 to include gender identity under the definition of sexual orientation, ensuring all students can participate fully in school life – including school sports – without fear of discrimination. A referendum to repeal this expansion in 2005 was defeated by 20 points. Maine voters have demonstrated multiple times that our state holds a strong commitment to providing safe, inclusive environments for all children.

Trans athlete bans undermine these longstanding protections that were passed by Maine lawmakers and reaffirmed by Maine voters. These bills open the door to invasive scrutiny of children's bodies based on how they look or are perceived. This would create harmful and exclusionary school climates. This is a blatant and dangerous rollback of the values Mainers have championed for decades.

In Maine, we take our freedoms seriously. Our state's commitment to privacy and individual rights, from reproductive freedom to marriage equality, consistently supports the idea that all people should have control over their bodies and their lives, without interference.

Three bills before the Maine State Legislature would upend the rights of transgender students in Maine. Open the menu below to see which bills we are following in 2025, our testimony to lawmakers, and track these bills through the legislative process.

Status

Active

Session

The First Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature

Bill number

Oppose: LDs 233, 868, 1134

1. LDs 233 and 1134: Banning Transgender Students from School Sports

A.LDs 233 and 1134: Banning Transgender Students from School Sports

These bills would ban transgender girls from school sports.

LD 233: An Act to Prohibit Biological Males from Participating in School Athletic Programs and Activities Designated for Females When State Funding Is Provided to the School

This bill would ban any school that receives state funding from allowing transgender girls to participate in school sports.

TRACK LD 233

LD 1134: An Act to Prohibit Males from Participating in Female Sports or Using Female Facilities

Similar to LD 233, this bill would ban any schools receiving state funding from allowing transgender girls to participate in school sports. Additionally, it would ban trans girls from using school facilities "designated for use solely by females." The bill is vague, and the meaning of "facilities" is unclear. This could potentially include a bathroom ban, taking us back more than a decade to debate an issue that has long been settled.

TRACK LD 1134

2. LD 868: Banning Transgender Students from Bathrooms and School Sports

A.LD 868: Banning Transgender Students from Bathrooms and School Sports

LD 868 goes further than other bills by explicitly banning trans and non-binary students from bathrooms – opening a debate that has been settled for more than a decade.

LD 868: An Act to Ensure Equity and Safety in Athletics, Restrooms, Changing Rooms and Housing at Elementary, Secondary and Postsecondary Schools

First, this bill would ban transgender girls from school sports. It goes further than other bills by also banning trans and non-binary students from using the bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity.

The debate over bathrooms and gender identity has long been settled in Maine. LD 868 is rolling back the clock nearly 15 years. Bathroom bans are not about privacy or safety — they’re motivated by ignorance, misinformation, and fear. It does not infringe anyone else’s rights to share public space with people who are different. Like previous efforts to expel people of color, people with disabilities, and others from communal space, these arguments for privacy just mask a fear of difference. And as courts have repeatedly recognized, those who are uncomfortable with sharing such spaces can seek out private spaces for themselves rather than force transgender people to be forever stigmatized and isolated.

Transgender people, whether people know it or not, are already using the bathrooms they have a right to, and doing so without incident. No student should be targeted, othered, and forced to use separate facilities or facilities that do not align with their gender identity. Maine students deserve to have safe, supportive environments where all children can thrive and grow into healthy young adults.

TRACK LD 868