Community youth athletics programs: sex or gender discrimination.

Through the leadership of Assembly Member Irwin, the measure would extend nondiscrimination protections for sex or gender across a broader set of local actors involved in community youth athletics, including charter schools and county offices of education, and extend to the facilities and resources that support these programs. It would prohibit discrimination in the operation, conduct, or administration of community youth athletics programs and in the allocation of parks and recreation facilities and resources, as well as school and recreation facilities and resources that enable these programs. The measure would authorize a private civil action for injunctive relief or damages to enforce these prohibitions, operating independently of other rights or remedies, and would rely on existing state civil rights frameworks to define unlawful discrimination.

To determine whether discrimination has occurred, the bill sets out a defined set of factors for courts to weigh, including whether opportunities for boys and girls are provided in numbers substantially proportionate to their community representation; the provision of funding, equipment, and supplies; scheduling of games and practice times; opportunities to receive coaching and the assignment and compensation of coaches; access to lands and areas used for these programs; the selection of the season; the location of games and practices; locker rooms; facilities used for practice and competition; publicity; and officiation by trained officials. It also establishes two accommodation approaches: (1) opportunities for each gender are substantially proportionate to their share of the community, or (2) where one gender is underrepresented, the agency can demonstrate that the interests and abilities of that gender have been fully and effectively accommodated by current programs and resource allocation. The definitions cover “community youth athletics programs,” “local educational agencies” (school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools), and the broad categories of facilities and resources that support youth athletics. The measure preserves existing consent decrees addressing gender equity, and enforcement provisions provide for injunctive relief or damages as a separate remedy.

On implementation, the measure would create a state-mandated local program, with reimbursement provisions if the state mandates costs on local agencies, in line with existing procedures for state-mandated costs. Local entities could face requirements to update policies, collect participation and resource-use data, train staff and coaches, and revise access to facilities and equipment to ensure parity across genders. The text does not specify an operative date within the bill itself, though enactment would ordinarily prompt local entities to review program offerings, scheduling, and facility use to align with the nondiscrimination standards. Placed within California’s nondiscrimination framework, the policy provides a private enforcement path for affected individuals and aligns program design and resource allocation with defined standards for gender equity in youth athletics.