Delegate Kathy Szeliga is heading back to Annapolis, ready for yet another showdown over who gets to play on girls' school sports teams.
Szeliga said Monday she plans to introduce, for the sixth time, a bill that would restrict girls' school sports to students she describes as biological females. She argued that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling has given new life to a measure that has repeatedly stalled in Maryland's State House.
Szeliga told local reporters she was "so excited" by the court's decision and said "the Supreme Court said there’s a physiological, scientific difference between boys and girls," which she contends supports her proposal. As reported by WBFF, she also argued that "by allowing them in you’re discriminating against biological girls" and pointed to similar laws in other states.
Supreme Court Ruling Fuels The Push
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 held that states may limit girls' and women's athletic teams to biological females, a decision that supporters say opens the door for more state-level restrictions.
In a 6-3 opinion, the court wrote that "states may maintain women's and girls' sports for biological females," according to the U.S. Supreme Court. That language is now central to Szeliga's argument that Maryland lawmakers should follow the lead of states that have already adopted similar policies.
Szeliga's Repeat Attempts In Annapolis
This is far from a one-off effort. Szeliga has been carrying versions of her "Fairness in Girls' Sports" measure across multiple legislative sessions, returning to the issue even as past bills have failed to gain traction.
Maryland's legislative database lists HB0063 as her 2026 filing and shows related bills in 2025 and 2024. Earlier versions did not advance out of committee, according to LegiScan, setting the stage for yet another round of hearings and hallway lobbying when lawmakers return.
Opponents Push Back
Transgender advocates and civil rights groups argue that statutes excluding some students from girls' teams are discriminatory and can damage students' well-being and willingness to participate in school sports.
"I think when we're talking about this issue we really want to see equity in women’s sports and that means participation along the identified genders," Lee Blinder, executive director of Trans Maryland, told local reporters, according to WBFF. Earlier legislative battles over similar bills also drew organized opposition during committee hearings, Washington Blade reporting shows.
Even with the new Supreme Court ruling in her corner, Szeliga is still facing long political odds in Annapolis. Maryland Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, as noted by Maryland Matters, making passage of an exclusionary statewide law a steep climb.
National coverage has warned that the court's decision shifts the fight over transgender participation in sports to statehouses and school boards, a trend outlined by Axios. Which means, like it or not, Maryland can expect this debate to keep coming back to Annapolis and local school panels in the months ahead.
