With all the turmoil in New York around bad “gender” laws, we can’t help but feel grateful when there’s a good bill up for consideration!

NY S4496 is a straightforward bill designed to protect women’s sports in middle school and high school from unfair competition. The text of the bill is here. The bill’s sponsor is Alexis Weik (R, C, 8th District). There are four co-sponsors (Borello, Helming, Rhoads, and Walczyk), all Republican. The bill is moving into committee and must now come to a vote.

As the bill text states:

Women have been fighting for equal opportunity in sports for decades and have made remarkable progress in limiting discrimination on the basis of sex, including the passage of Title IX in 1972. However, in recent years, transgender biological men have been competing in women’s sports, even though their inherent biological differences give them an unfair competitive advantage.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. According to HeCheated.org, a website that hosts a database of men and boys placing in women’s and girls’ athletic competitions, 399 men and boys have displaced women and girls in their own category in New York State alone. As for middle and high school competitions, the levels that S4496 is concerned with, at least 3,455 high school girls around the world have been displaced from podiums by boys since 2000, and 168 middle school girls lost their spot to a boy since 2014.

Women and girls fought for our sports category long ago, and the reasons why are so obvious this has become an 80/20 issue in recent years. Only 31% of Democrats believe men should be allowed to play in women’s sports.

Yet our lawmakers keep ignoring the will of the public, and some seem determined to destroy the women’s category no matter what.

If you would like guidance understanding this issue or crafting your message to representatives, check our Myth vs. Fact: Sports page or Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender (DIAG)‘s information sheet.

On March 9, 2026, notice of committee consideration of the bill by the education committee was requested. Under State Senate Rules, “Such motions shall be in order forty-five days after a bill has been referred to such committee. Once a motion for committee consideration is filed, the chair of the committee shall place the bill on a committee agenda and schedule a vote on the bill within forty-five days, if the forty-five days shall expire while the senate is in recess, the bill shall be placed on the next regularly scheduled committee meeting’s agenda following the end of the forty-five day period. In the case of a bill that is referred to a standing committee having secondary reference, the bill shall be considered within the next two committee meetings.”

There may be an opportunity to present testimony. We’ll let you know.

For now, contact your State Senators to tell them you support this bill.

Senate

1. Look up your NY state senator here.
2. Check if they’re a sponsor.

Sponsor: Alexis Weik (District 8)
Co-sponsors: George Borrello (District 57), Pamela Helming (District 54), Steven Rhoads (District 5), Mark Walczyk (District 49)

3. Click the ‘Message Senator’ button on the nysenate.gov site. We’ve gotten you started with some sample text, but fill in the square brackets and add whatever you want!

Dear Senator [NAME], 
I am writing as your constituent [and a feminist, lesbian, lifelong liberal, etc.] to state my strong support of S4496.
I strongly urge you, as my Senator, to sponsor and support this straightforward bill to protect girl's sports. Inclusion of males in female sports violates women’s and girls’ fundamental right to equal opportunity in sports. Performance differences between males and females—differences that begin before puberty and persist regardless of any hormone treatment—necessitate sex categories for the sake of fairness and safety for women and girls.
We fought for our Title IX rights once before. We had the federal government clarify that the female category was meant for women all along. We shouldn't have to keep fighting to ensure girls can compete fairly, and it certainly shouldn't be left to the girls to defend their own category when the adults in the room close their eyes and ears to the reality they face.
Please stand with the girls risking harsh punishments to speak out and support S4496.
[YOUR NAME]

4. Create an account at nysenate.gov or log into an existing account to click the ‘aye’ button on the bill page.