A bill (House File 3215) introduced by DFLers in the Minnesota House last week would codify the gender-inclusive appeals process developed by the Minnesota State High School League in late-2014.

In late 2014, the Minnesota State High School League passed a policy that provides a framework for schools to allow transgender students to participate in high school extracurricular activities including athletics. It also includes an appeal process for students who have transitioned their gender. The policy says, in part, “In accordance with applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations, the Minnesota State High School League allows participation for all students regardless of their gender identity or expression in an environment free from discrimination with an equal opportunity for participation in athletics and fine arts.”

The bill introduced last week would beef up that policy and make it state law — if passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Mark Dayton.

The bill was introduced by Phyllis Kahn of Minneapolis, Sheldon Johnson of St. Paul, Raymond Dehn of Minneapolis.

Here’s the full text of the bill:

Subd. 2a. Gender identity; participation in league activities.
(a) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms defined in this paragraph have the meanings
given them:
(1) “transgender person” means a person whose gender-related identity is different from and does not match the gender assigned at birth;
(2) “gender-related identity” means a person’s deeply felt internal sense of being male or female; and
(3) “gender-related expression” means a person’s external characteristics and behaviors such as dress, speech, mannerisms, and social interactions that are socially defined as either masculine or feminine.
(b) A student’s member school initially determines a student’s eligibility to participate in league-sponsored interscholastic activities. When a member school receives written notice from a student and the student’s parent or guardian that the student has a consistent and uniform gender-related identity, or that the student’s gender-related identity is sincerely held as part of the student’s core identity and the gender-related identity is different from the student’s gender described on the student’s school registration records or birth certificate, and the student wishes to participate in league-sponsored interscholastic activities consistent with the student’s current gender-related identity, the student’s school must review the following information before determining the appropriate gender team on which to place the student:
(1) the student’s current transcript, school registration, and other relevant information;
(2) the written notice from the student and the student’s parent or guardian affirming the student’s consistent and uniform or sincerely held gender-related identity and expression;
(3) statements from individuals such as parents, friends, and teachers affirming the student’s actions, attitudes, dress, and manner that demonstrate the student’s consistent and uniform or sincerely held gender-related identity or expression; and
(4) a written statement from an appropriate health care professional, acting within the scope of that person’s licensure, verifying the existence of the student’s consistent and uniform or sincerely held gender-related identity.
(c) Consistent with paragraph (b), after a school receives confirmation of a student’s consistent and uniform gender-related identity or other evidence that the student’s gender-related identity is sincerely held as part of the student’s core identity, the student is eligible to participate in league-sponsored interscholastic activities consistent with the student’s current gender-related identity for the remaining period of the student’s high school eligibility.
(d) If a member school denies a student’s request to participate in league-sponsored interscholastic activities consistent with the student’s current gender-related identity, the student’s parent or guardian may appeal the school’s decision to the league’s executive director. The executive director or the executive director’s designee, under the league’s fair hearing procedures as periodically amended and published, must then determine the student’s eligibility to participate in league-sponsored interscholastic activities consistent with the student’s current gender-related identity. The decision of the executive director or the executive director’s designee is final.
(e) Consistent with applicable law, the school and the league must keep the information about the student transmitted under this subdivision private unless the student and the student’s parent or guardian specifically allow the school or league to disclose the information.
(f) Member schools must make a locker room, bathroom, and shower facility in a safe, comfortable, and convenient environment accessible to every student who participates in a league-sponsored interscholastic activity.