Colorado ballot measure · November 3, 2026

Colorado Proposition 134, explained

School sports teams designated by biological sex. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wording

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes creating new law restricting participation in all K-12 and collegiate school sports based on the participant's sex as determined by certain aspects of their biological reproductive system, and, in connection therewith, requiring a school, institution of higher education, or athletic association to designate each school or intramural athletic team or sport as male, female, or coeducational; only allowing participants to compete on the team or sport of their designated sex or to compete on a coeducational team; creating an exception to allow a female to participate on a male-designated team or sport if there is no female team available; prohibiting a government entity, licensing or accrediting organization, or athletic association from entertaining a complaint, opening an investigation, or taking other adverse action against a school for maintaining separate teams or sports for females; and providing the commissioner of education with the authority to enforce the proposed initiative for K-12 school districts?

This is what appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.

What it actually means

Requires every school and college team or sport, from elementary school through university and including intramurals, to be designated male, female or coeducational, with students assigned by biological sex as defined by reproductive biology. Students who are transgender could play only on teams matching their biological sex or on coeducational teams.

If you vote YES

All public, charter, private and religious K-12 schools and all colleges would have to designate each team male-only, female-only or coeducational, and adopt policies assigning students by biological sex; females could play on a male team if no female team exists.
Schools and districts would set their own methods for verifying biological sex, since the measure does not specify one.
No government, accrediting body or athletic association could investigate or penalise a school for keeping a team female-only.
The Commissioner of Education would enforce the rules for public K-12 districts; there is no enforcement mechanism for private schools, colleges or athletic associations.
Youth leagues run separately from schools would not be affected.

If you vote NO

Schools, districts and athletic associations would continue to set eligibility policies under current state and federal law.
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act would continue to bar public schools and colleges from excluding students from activities consistent with their gender identity, subject to an ongoing lawsuit.
The Colorado High School Activities Association's rules and its December 2025 settlement allowing some schools to keep separate teams by biological sex would remain; NCAA rules already limit women's college competition to athletes assigned female at birth.

The numbers that matter

State fiscal impact: Indeterminate workload and legal costs if districts do not comply
Local fiscal impact: Expected to be minimal

Why supporters say YES

Female athletes should compete against other females; allowing biological males on female teams creates an unfair advantage that can cost girls wins, records and scholarships, and a statewide standard ends uneven local rules.
— Colorado Blue Book argument for Proposition 134 (Legislative Council Staff)
Physical differences between the sexes affect strength and injury risk, and shared locker rooms raise privacy concerns; a policy based on biological sex protects the safety of all participants.
— Colorado Blue Book argument for Proposition 134 (Legislative Council Staff)

Why opponents say NO

Without a set method for proving sex, schools would create their own policies, which could subject many athletes, not only transgender students, to invasive or expensive checks, and single out athletes based on appearance or success.
— Colorado Blue Book argument against Proposition 134 (Legislative Council Staff)
Excluding transgender students from teams with their peers leads to harassment and isolation, and the rigid rules apply even to young children in non-competitive school sports.
— Colorado Blue Book argument against Proposition 134 (Legislative Council Staff)

What’s genuinely uncertain

How the measure interacts with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act is unclear, according to Legislative Council Staff; a federal lawsuit challenging the Act's application to school sports is ongoing.
In June 2026 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title IX permits states to keep separate sports based on biological sex; federal Executive Order 14201 also directs agencies to interpret Title IX that way.
State costs for enforcement are indeterminate.
The measure is sponsored by Protect Kids Colorado, according to Colorado Newsline; no registered opposition committee was identified in the sources reviewed.

The bottom line

A uniform statewide rule separating school sports by biological sex, against excluding transgender students from teams and leaving verification to each school.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources:leg.colorado.gov coloradosos.gov coloradonewsline.com

Checking it against the official text

The Colorado Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Colorado Secretary of State.

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