Arizona House Republicans have passed House Concurrent Resolution 2003, known as the Protect Girls’ Sports in Arizona Act, sending the measure to the Senate and moving it closer to a public vote in November 2026. The resolution is sponsored by Representative Selina Bliss.
The measure would require school-sponsored interscholastic and intramural athletic teams to be designated as male, female, or coeducational based on biological sex. It also prohibits schools and athletic associations from allowing individuals to use private athletic facilities not designated for their sex. According to Arizona House Republicans, the referral restores and strengthens provisions of Arizona’s 2022 Save Women’s Sports Act that were partially blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“Today the House acted to protect fair competition for girls across Arizona. Women’s sports were created because biological differences matter. When those differences are ignored, girls lose roster spots, scholarships, and opportunities they earned. HCR 2003 gives voters the chance to protect female athletes and establish clear, durable rules for schools,” Representative Selina Bliss said. Bliss also said, “Court rulings have created uncertainty for schools and families. This referral allows Arizona voters to decide whether girls’ sports should remain for girls. It protects privacy in locker rooms and showers and restores clarity statewide.”
If approved by voters, beginning January 1, 2027, schools and athletic associations would be required to designate athletic teams as male, female, or coeducational based on biological sex. Teams designated for females may not be opened to athletes of the male sex. The measure allows athletes to participate on teams aligned with their sex, preserves protections against retaliation, grants a private cause of action to athletes deprived of opportunities due to violations of the law, and prohibits adverse action against schools or associations maintaining separate teams for female athletes.
The act would apply to public and qualifying private schools serving kindergarten through twelfth grade if approved at the next general election ballot. HCR 2003 now advances to the Arizona Senate.
Bliss is a Republican who was elected in 2023 to represent Arizona’s 1st House District in Yavapai County, replacing previous state representative Judy Burges.
