Vote yes on Prop 134 to protect girls’ teams—not the scare campaign

Colorado parents should vote yes on Proposition 134: it keeps boys off their daughters’ teams and does not require genital inspections¹. On Oct. 29, Erin Lee, co-founder of Protect Kids Colorado, which backs the measure, wrote that Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty is pushing the claim "that schools will be doing “genital inspections” on kids²."

The Colorado Legislative Council’s 2026 Blue Book says: “The measure does not impose a specific method for determining or demonstrating biological sex.”

The Blue Book is written by Legislative Council Staff, "the nonpartisan research staff of the General Assembly³." It says the measure would require school teams from elementary school through college to be "designated as male-only or female-only based on biological sex," unless a team is open to everyone⁴. Biological male students could not join female teams⁵. The Blue Book says: “Individual schools or school districts must determine their own verification procedures.” Rocky Mountain Voice checked the final text and found "no examination" in it, and no way for one student to accuse another¹. The ACLU of Colorado’s voter advice says Proposition 134 “could subject girls and young women to invasive and humiliating gender checks, including genital inspections, hormone tests, or genetic testing”⁶—a prediction, not a requirement in the measure. It orders no exam.

“Individual schools or school districts must determine their own verification procedures.”

District 49 checks forms, not bodies

Colorado does not have to imagine how a school would check a student's sex, because El Paso County's District 49 already does it. The district adopted its sex-based sports policy in May 2025. A December 2025 settlement let it keep that policy without a penalty from the Colorado High School Activities Association¹.

District communications director David Nancarrow laid out the process: "At athletic registration, the student and family state the student’s sex again, and the athletic physical form requires the student, the parent and a physician to certify it." Staff then compare the records. "Well over 99% of our students already identify as a boy or a girl," Nancarrow wrote. Requests based on a unique genetic characteristic or medical verification, he said, are considered "on a case-by-case basis." In the more than 16 months since the policy was adopted, Nancarrow said, the district has handled zero eligibility disputes¹.

The Blue Book reports that at least seven Colorado schools and districts have adopted policies barring biological males who identify as female from girls' sports. Those existing policies show schools can set sex-based team rules; the measure would require every school to do so.

The ACLU warning describes a prediction

The scare line has a source in print. The ACLU urges voters to reject the measure by warning that schools could impose checks the text does not require.

Look at the verb: "could" is a forecast about a rule the measure never writes. Chalkbeat asked Lee whether female athletes seen as too masculine would face scrutiny, and she answered, "The great thing about this ballot measure is that it eliminates any skepticism⁵." If District 49 settles eligibility with signed forms and zero disputes, what inspection is the ACLU warning about?

Sex-based teams protect girls’ opportunities

Opponents talk about inspections because the real question is the girls' teams. When transgender girls are allowed in girls’ sports, Lee told Chalkbeat, girls “lose their scholarships, their trophies, their podium spots, their records, their championships, their spot on the team.” The Blue Book records the supporters' privacy point as well: "Beyond the field of play, shared locker rooms raise privacy concerns⁴."

The measure is written for girls. A girl may play on a boys' team when her sport has no girls' team, and any student may join a coed team⁵. No one may investigate or penalize a school for keeping a female-only team⁴. Voters already agree: American Principles Project's "Defeating They/Them" report cites a November 2024 Napolitan News/RMG poll in which 75% said biological males should not compete in women's sports⁷.

75%

Colorado parents should vote yes

Girls deserve teams reserved for female athletes and the chance to compete on equal terms. If voters approve it on Nov. 3, it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027⁵. Read the Blue Book and vote yes to protect girls’ teams.

Sources

1. Proposition 134 and 135 fact check: What the measures say and what opponents claim - Rocky Mountain Voice
2. @Erin4Parents on X, 2026-10-29: Not only does Boulder DA Michael Dougherty want child sex traffickers running free… He is also pushing the stupid lies that my org is “dark money”, that schools will be doing “genital inspections” on kids, and that chopping off little kids’ healthy body part, 2026-10-29
3. 2026 Colorado State Ballot Information Booklet
4. Proposition 134: Male and Female Participation in School and Collegiate Sports
5. Colorado Proposition 134: Transgender student athlete sports ban on November ballot - Chalkbeat
6. Colorado voters must vote like our civil rights depend on it this fall, because they do. - ACLU of Colorado
7. Defeating They/Them (American Principles Project, 2024)