SF 1543

as introduced - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/20/2015 09:21am

A bill for an act
relating to education; providing for participation in athletic teams; establishing
the Student Physical Privacy Act; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 121A.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[121A.041] ATHLETIC TEAMS; PARTICIPATION.

Subdivision 1.

Level of skill and ability.

An elementary or secondary school may
make participation on a team in a sport dependent upon a demonstrated level of skill
and ability.

Subd. 2.

Female teams; male participation.

When an elementary or secondary
school establishes a team for students of the female sex, students of the male sex may not
try out for or participate on that team. For purposes of this section, "sex" means the
physical condition of being male or female, which is genetically determined by a person's
chromosomes and is identified at birth by a person's anatomy.

Subd. 3.

Minnesota State High School League.

The Minnesota State High School
League shall review and conform league rules, guidelines, procedures, and eligibility
bylaws to be consistent with this section.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 2.

[121A.35] STUDENT PHYSICAL PRIVACY ACT.

Subdivision 1.

Purpose.

The purpose of this section is to protect and provide for
the privacy and safety of all students enrolled in public schools and to maintain order and
dignity in restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, showers, and other facilities where
students may be in various states of undress in the presence of other students.

Subd. 2.

Definitions.

For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the meanings given them.

(a) "Sex" means the physical condition of being male or female, which is determined
by a person's chromosomes and is identified at birth by a person's anatomy.

(b) "Public school" means a public school under section 120A.05, subdivisions 9,
11, 13, and 17, and a charter school under section 124D.10.

Subd. 3.

Student physical privacy protection.

(a) A public school student
restroom, locker room, changing room, and shower room accessible by multiple students
at the same time shall be designated for the exclusive use by students of the male sex
only or by students of the female sex only.

(b) A public school student restroom, locker room, changing room, and shower room
that is designated for the exclusive use of one sex shall be used only by members of that sex.

(c) In any other public school facility or setting where a student may be in a state of
undress in the presence of other students, school personnel shall provide separate, private,
and safe areas designated for use by students based on their sex.

(d) Nothing in this section shall prohibit public schools from providing
accommodation such as single-occupancy facilities or controlled use of faculty
facilities upon a student request due to special circumstances, but in no event shall that
accommodation result in a public school allowing a student to use a facility designated
under paragraph (b) for a sex other than the student's own sex.