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Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signed SB354, barring transgender athletes from girls' and women's school sports

On March 25, 2021, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB354, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," into law as Act 461 of 2021. The law limits K-12 and college athletic teams designated for females to students whose biological sex is female, barring transgender girls and women from competing on those teams, and creates a private cause of action for a student or school harmed by a violation. Sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin and Rep. Jim Barker, the bill passed the Arkansas Senate on March 10, 2021, and the House on March 22, 2021, before reaching Hutchinson's desk.

Jurisdiction
Arkansas
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas

Abuses documented

Actors

On March 25, 2021, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB354, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," into law as Act 461 of 2021. The law requires that K-12 and college athletic teams designated for females be limited to students whose biological sex is female, barring transgender girls and women from participating in girls' and women's school sports, and creates a private cause of action for a student or school harmed by a violation. Sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin and Rep. Jim Barker, the bill passed the Arkansas Senate on March 10, 2021, and the House on March 22, 2021, before reaching Hutchinson's desk.

Hutchinson said in a statement accompanying the signing that he had "studied the law and heard from hundreds of constituents on this issue" and signed it as "a fan of women's sports." The law made Arkansas one of a wave of states to enact sex-based eligibility restrictions for school athletics in 2021.

Why we recorded this

Equal protection under civil rights law requires that government treat people the same regardless of a protected characteristic, including in access to school athletics. Arkansas barred transgender girls and women from competing on female-designated K-12 and college teams, writing a sex-based exclusion into state law and creating a private right of action against schools that don't enforce it. This archive records when government singles out a protected group for exclusion from a public activity available to everyone else.

Sources

  1. SB354 Bill Detail — Arkansas State Legislature — Arkansas State Legislature primary accessed July 18, 2026
  2. Act 461 of 2021 (enrolled SB354 text) — Arkansas State Legislature primary accessed July 18, 2026
  3. Gov. Hutchinson signs 'Fairness in Women's Sports Act' — KAIT8 secondary accessed July 18, 2026
  4. Hutchinson signs bill to ban transgender girls from girls' sports — Arkansas Times secondary accessed July 18, 2026

See also