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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2153, barring transgender women from college sports

On May 9, 2022, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2153 (Public Chapter 1005), barring students of the male sex from intercollegiate or intramural sports designated for "females," "women," or "girls" at public (and certain private) institutions of higher education, requiring institutions to rely on a student's original birth certificate. The same act created a private civil cause of action for violations of Tennessee's existing K-12 transgender sports ban enacted in 2021.

Jurisdiction
Tennessee
Location
Nashville, Tennessee

Abuses documented

Actors

On May 9, 2022, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 2153 into law as Public Chapter 1005, barring students of the male sex from participating in intercollegiate or intramural athletic teams or sports designated for "females," "women," or "girls" at public institutions of higher education (and private institutions that compete against them). Institutions must rely on the sex listed on a student's original birth certificate issued at or near the time of birth to determine eligibility.

The act built directly on Tennessee's 2021 K-12 transgender sports ban (TCA 49-6-310, enacted via SB228), extending the same sex-classification approach to the collegiate level and creating a new private civil cause of action for students harmed by violations of the K-12 ban, allowing them to sue for injunctive relief, damages, and attorney fees. The bill passed the Senate 27-4 and the House 70-14 before Lee's signature. It took effect July 1, 2022.

Why we recorded this

Equal protection in public higher education means sports eligibility should turn on legitimate athletic criteria, not a governmentally imposed sex classification pegged to a birth certificate. Tennessee entrenched that classification at the college level and attached statutory penalties to violations, expanding a K-12 policy the state had already enacted the year before. This archive records when a state government singles out transgender residents for exclusion from public institutions and programs otherwise open to all similarly situated students.

Sources

  1. SB 2153 - Tennessee General Assembly Bill Information — Tennessee General Assembly primary accessed July 18, 2026
  2. Public Chapter 1005 (enacted text) — Tennessee Secretary of State primary accessed July 18, 2026
  3. Tennessee governor signs collegiate transgender athlete ban — FOX13 Memphis secondary accessed July 18, 2026
  4. Tennessee Bans Trans Athletes From College Sports — The Advocate secondary accessed July 18, 2026

See also