Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the Women's Safety and Protection Act, barring gender-identity recognition in sex-segregated facilities

On May 22, 2026, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB0468/HB0571, the "Women's Safety and Protection Act," enacted by the 114th Tennessee General Assembly and set to take effect July 1, 2026. The law requires a range of sex-segregated spaces — domestic-violence shelters, correctional and juvenile-detention facilities, public higher-education housing, and public-school overnight lodging and changing rooms — to be designated according to "an individual's biological sex, either male or female, as observed or clinically verified at birth."

The statute specifies that this definition "does not include gender identity and other subjective terms, which do not apply to this chapter and must not be used as synonyms or substitutes for sex." In practice the law ends legal recognition of transgender residents' gender identity in the state-regulated settings it covers, including the placement of incarcerated people and access to facilities matching a person's identity. It creates a private cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief, allowing individuals to sue non-complying facilities within two years and to recover attorney fees and costs.

The measure was promoted as the "Riley Gaines Women's Safety and Protection Act" and adds Tennessee to a group of states that have narrowed legal definitions of sex to birth-assigned status across public institutions.