INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said Monday he is glad to defend the law that bans transgender girls from competing in girls school sports.
"It is called Hoosier common sense," said Rokita in a statement. "Biological males have certain physiological advantages that make it unfair to allow them to compete for spots on girls sports teams. The law passed by the Indiana General Assembly simply acknowledges that science and protects the integrity of girls sports in K-12 schools."
The ACLU is suing to stop the law on behalf of a 10-year-old Indianapolis Public Schools student who was born male but identifies as female. The ACLU has also asked a judge for a preliminary injunction against enforcement until the lawsuit is decided.
On Friday, Rokita filed a brief opposing that injunction.
"(The law) must be upheld so long as there is a rational basis for excluding biological males from sports for biological females," wrote the attorneys for the Attorney General's Office.
Critics of the law, including Governor Eric Holcomb, said the Indiana High School Athletic Association already has a policy in place to address transgender athletes.
According to court documents, male-to-female transgender athletes must include written affirmation or documentation regarding all physiological testing, counseling, or other medical or psychological interventions related to gender transition and all hormone treatment along with the student's physical condition including bone structure, muscle mass, and/or testosterone hormonal levels.
Those court documents also say transgender female athletes must establish that they have completed a minimum of one year of hormone treatment or undergone a medically confirmed gender reassignment procedure.
But Rokita argues the IHSAA "has no metrics or standards by which it compares an applicant's physical and physiological condition to the physical condition of a genetic female of the same age group" and "standards for hormones like testosterone ... also are missing."
Rokita said the IHSAA doesn't have a level it requires transgender athletes to meet.
The ACLU has until July 1 to file its response.