Indiana enacted HB 1041 extending its transgender-athlete ban to women's college sports
On April 3, 2025, the Indiana General Assembly gave final passage to House Bill 1041 by a 42-6 Senate vote, extending the state's 2022 ban on transgender athletes in K-12 sports to public colleges and universities. Governor Mike Braun signed the measure in April 2025 and it took effect July 1, 2025, barring athletes assigned male at birth from women's college teams, requiring institutions to adopt grievance procedures, and creating a private right of action allowing students to sue over suspected violations.
Actors
- Mike Braun (Governor of Indiana)
- Indiana General Assembly
- Michelle Davis (Indiana State Representative, House author)
- Stacey Donato (Indiana State Senator, Senate sponsor)
On April 3, 2025, the Indiana General Assembly gave final passage to House Bill 1041, which the Senate approved 42-6, extending the state's existing ban on transgender athletes in K-12 sports to collegiate athletics. The law bars athletes assigned male at birth from competing on women's teams at Indiana's public colleges and universities, and at private institutions that compete against them, and defines eligibility by biological sex at birth. Representative Michelle Davis authored the measure in the House and Senator Stacey Donato sponsored it in the Senate.
Governor Mike Braun signed House Bill 1041 into law in April 2025, and it took effect July 1, 2025. The statute requires covered institutions to establish grievance procedures for alleged violations and creates a private right of action permitting students and parents to file legal complaints if they suspect a transgender athlete competed against or alongside a student. The measure built on Indiana's 2022 K-12 transgender-athlete ban and was enacted during a 2025 legislative session that produced several measures affecting LGBTQ+ Indianans; opponents noted the law contained no safeguard against invasive challenges to an athlete's sex.
Why we recorded this
The civil-rights ideal holds that government must not single out people for disadvantage based on protected characteristics such as gender identity. Indiana enacted a law barring transgender women from competing on women's teams at its public colleges and universities, extending an existing K-12 ban into higher education and authorizing lawsuits over suspected violations. This records a state writing the exclusion of transgender students from public-university athletics into law and building enforcement mechanisms around it.
Sources
- Indiana HB1041 (2025) — LegiScan primary accessed July 12, 2026
- Ban on transgender female athletes from women's college teams passes with bipartisan support — Indiana Capital Chronicle investigative accessed July 12, 2026
- Trans athletes can no longer play sports in Indiana starting this month — LGBTQ Nation secondary accessed July 12, 2026
- Indiana bill to expand transgender athlete ban to college sports advances with bipartisan support — Indiana Capital Chronicle investigative accessed July 12, 2026
See also
- Indiana Gov. Braun signed SB143, barring schools from withholding student information from parents and enabling forced outing of LGBTQ students
- Indiana Gov. Braun signed HB1412, shielding parents' non-affirmation of transgender children from child-neglect review
- Indiana Gov. Holcomb signed SB 480, banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors statewide
- Indiana Gov. Holcomb signed HB 1608, barring K-3 instruction on human sexuality and requiring schools to notify parents of gender-identity requests
- West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed SB456, defining sex by birth and barring transgender people from single-sex spaces
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