Texas Senate passes bill limiting public school student athletes to teams that match their birth gender

The Texas Senate passed a bill Friday night requiring transgender public school athletes to compete on teams that match their birth gender, not the gender they identify with. The controversial bill, which passed in the House on Thursday, heads to Governor Greg Abbott's desk next. 

Introduced by Representative Valoree Swanson, the measure restricts athletes to playing on teams that match the biological sex listed on an official birth certificate issued at or close to the time of the student's birth. A modified birth certificate will be accepted if it had been changed "to correct a clerical error," the bill states.

Transgender male athletes will be allowed to play on male teams only if there are no other options available for the sport.