By Maggie Mullen

Republican legislators are planning to bring at least four bills to Wyoming’s 2025 general session aimed at restricting transgender people’s participation in certain sports and access to public bathrooms and other spaces. 

Lawmakers’ increasing focus on transgender issues comes on the heels of controversy at the University of Wyoming involving its women’s volleyball team and an alleged transgender player on an opposing team. It also follows an expensive and hard-fought campaign season that saw the Wyoming Freedom Caucus win control of the House and move the body further to the right. 

The exact details of the legislation remain to be seen — none of the bills had been published by press time — but they vary in scope, according to several lawmakers who spoke with WyoFile. They are being drafted less than a year after Wyoming banned gender-affirming care for minors including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

Rep. Martha Lawley (R-Worland), who announced in an op-ed plans to bring both a sports bill and a private spaces bill, said she sees the legislation as an opportunity for lawmakers to unify around a single issue. 

“I would like this to become something that’s more about the cooperation that we can engage in when we really want to,” Lawley told WyoFile. “And if there’s one place that we could showcase that it would be on an issue like this.”

One of Lawley’s bills would expand Wyoming’s transgender athlete ban beyond its current limitation on middle and high school girls sports to include elementary school and intercollegiate competition. The second measure would prohibit transgender girls and women from using women’s public bathrooms, locker rooms, showers and correctional facilities. 

Lawley defeated a Freedom Caucus-backed opponent in the primary election. Whether the group brings its own legislation on the two related matters is not yet clear. Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) told WyoFile, “We haven’t seen [Lawley’s bills] yet, but we are pleased to see her being more responsive to the will of the people of Wyoming.” 

Meanwhile, Sen. Wendy Schuler (R-Evanston) — the lead sponsor of the 2023 sports bill that became law without Gov. Mark Gordon’s signature — told WyoFile she’ll also bring legislation to extend sports ban to the collegiate level. Plus, Park County lawmakers are expected to bring a bathroom bill in support of a resolution passed by Powell’s school board last month. 

Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) told WyoFile she’s saddened by the forthcoming slate of legislation. 

“I know that my colleagues are good people. I know that we all want to solve issues and problems, and so when I see this divergence from what I believe are our shared values, it’s just disappointing,” she said, adding that she’d prefer to see lawmakers coalesce around other issues like wildfires, affordable housing and recent trona mine layoffs in southwest Wyoming. 

“We have real problems here,” Provenza said. “I thought I was coming [to the Legislature] to solve problems and not attack people in my district, because that’s who this impacts — it’s my district.”

Sports bans

The University of Wyoming women’s volleyball team forfeited an Oct. 5 match against San José State University because the rival team is alleged to have a transgender player. 

Wyoming’s players were split 9-9, with one abstention in their team vote on whether to play the Spartans. Records indicate the decision to forfeit was ultimately made for them by higher-ups after pressure mounted from the public and elected officials.The circumstances in part inspired Lawley’s legislation. 

“What happened with the volleyball was very eye-opening, I think, for a lot of people in Wyoming,” Lawley said. “I had a lot of response from constituents about that when it was happening. They were very appreciative of the decision made by the University of Wyoming. They felt it was the right decision. Honestly, their only criticism was, ‘Why did it take so long? Why was that so hard to do or figure out?’”

Lawley said her bill would provide clarity in future situations by requiring eligibility standards for intercollegiate sports at UW and Wyoming’s community colleges to be based on biological sex. It would also prohibit teams from competing against out-of-state transgender players. 

“This isn’t about shutting anyone out—it’s about giving every young woman the chance to compete on a level playing field,” Lawley wrote in her op-ed. “The amendment provides legal remedies to hold institutions accountable if those rights are violated.” 

The legislation also extends the ban already on the books to include all grade levels in the K-12 system. As written, the law only applies to middle and high school girls sports. 

While Schuler said she’ll likely support Lawley’s bill, she’s also planning to bring a version that would only include intercollegiate sports. 

“Mine is just a little bit more simple,” Schuler said. 

When Schuler first brought legislation in 2023 to impose the ban, she originally included collegiate sports. She eased off that, however, when UW asked her to allow the National Collegiate Athletic Association to sort things out instead. 

But the NCAA, “they just haven’t done that,” Schuler said. This time, Schuler hasn’t gotten approval from UW, she said, but “they didn’t try to discourage me. Let’s just put it that way.”

Private spaces 

In November, the Park County School District #1 Board of Trustees voted unanimously for a resolution that calls on lawmakers to pass legislation related to restroom use, the Powell-Tribune reported. 

“Due to conflicting case law and legal authority, the current legal and legislative landscape of the United States and Wyoming does not provide a clear foundation for individual school districts to set policy surrounding the issue of sex-based restroom use,” the resolution reads. 

“The district will advocate in the 2025 legislative session and support the passage of legislation similar to Oklahoma Statute 70-1-125 ‘Restrooms in Public Schools’ which will clarify the issue of restroom use for all Wyoming school districts,” the resolution states. 

The 2022 Oklahoma law requires restrooms or locker rooms in public schools to be designated exclusively based on biological sex. 

Lawley said she’s heard Park County lawmakers are planning to bring their own legislation to account for the resolution. Meanwhile, her legislation would cast a wider net than Oklahoma’s, applying the law to not just public schools but other public buildings such as correctional facilities. 

“We have all heard stories of discomfort and fear when policies aren’t clear, leaving institutions scrambling to balance privacy concerns with the risk of lawsuits,” Lawley wrote in her op-ed. “It’s time for the Legislature to act.”

As for enforcement, Lawley said her private spaces bill would give anyone legal standing in court should they sue a school district or other public entity for not complying with the law — also known as a private right of action. Similarly in Texas, a private right of action allows private individuals to sue abortion providers or anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion in a Texas court. 

“Other states have used funding as a motivation, and that could be something we look at again,” Lawley said. That could prove to be complicated, however, since the state is constitutionally obligated to fully fund public education. 

The Wyoming Legislature’s general session starts Jan. 14. 

This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

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