transgender

UW's Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter admitted a transgender student in 2022, prompting a federal lawsuit, national attention and now a U.S. Department of Education investigation.

Both the U.S. District Court of Wyoming and a federal appeals court have dismissed the 2023 suit. The plaintiffs have 30 days to refile as of May 9.

The bill’s sponsors referenced an ongoing case in Wyoming, where members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority are suing over a transgender student’s inclusion.

Three Wyomingites say the laws portend psychological and potential physical harm.

The “Student eligibility in sports” bill would define the terms “men” and “women,” banning students from team sports if their gender identities don’t match the bill’s definitions. Another bill would forbid transgender people from using the bathrooms or locker rooms of their choice if the spaces don’t match their sex assigned at birth.

The measure passed a third reading in the Wyoming Senate and now heads to the House for consideration. It would build on a law passed in 2023 banning transgender girls from playing high school sports.

The “What is a Woman Act” would establish legal definitions for “biological sex,” “man” and “woman,” and would ban trans women from accessing the bathrooms of their choice. Another would ban DEI initiatives in state government and UW.

In Wyoming, there’s already some guardrails in place to limit involving law enforcement without a caller’s consent.

The Fremont County School Board is considering two policies about topics like pronouns and names for transgender students and staff this week. The new policies, “Student Transgender Considerations” and “Staff Transgender Considerations,” will go before the board for a first reading at a meeting on the evening of July 16.

The Cowboy State is the latest state in the Mountain West to implement such a ban, which restricts medical treatment for minors undergoing gender transition.