The Senate on Wednesday approved legislation to preserve opportunities for female athletes at public schools and colleges by requiring scholastic sports teams to be designated based on biological sex.

The legislation will be sent to the House of Representatives, where action is urged.

Senate Bill 1293 would require public schools and colleges to label sports teams as male, female or coed. The legislation states only biological females can join teams designated for women. The bill would also allow students to take legal action if they are harmed by violations of this rule.

The bill is championed by state Senators Judy Ward, R-Blair, and Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York.

“The Save Women’s Sports Act is about ensuring that female athletes have a level playing field and that the progress made throughout the past decades in women’s athletics is protected,” Ward said.

“Fairness in women’s sports should never be up for debate or subject to change with shifting federal guidance,” Phillips-Hill said.

Ward introduced the bill alongside her female colleagues Phillips-Hill, Kim Ward, Lisa Baker, Michele Brooks, Camera Bartolotta, Tracy Pennycuick, Rosemary Brown, Lynda Schlegel Culver and Dawn Keefer. The bill has also garnered support from several co-sponsors, including Sens. Greg Rothman, Doug Mastriano, Wayne Langerholc Jr., Scott Hutchinson, Scott Martin, Patrick Stefano, Cris Dush and Frank Farry.

Since 2020 in Pennsylvania, men have taken first place from female athletes 87 times and took second or third place 64 times.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, males, on average, have larger hearts, more muscle mass, less percentage body fat and use energy more efficiently. This means that for athletic events relying on endurance, strength, speed, and power, males usually outperform females by 10% to 30% depending on the sport.

Recently, the International Olympic Committee enacted new policy guidelines ensuring that all sporting events under their jurisdiction for any female category are limited to biological females only. Additionally, the IOC provided that after scientific review, they determined a sex-based eligibility rule is necessary and adequate to the attainment of their goals for competition.