Virginia administration withdraws Youngkin-era proposal on sex-based sports and private spaces
Caroline MolloyVirginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration withdrew a regulatory proposal begun under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin that addressed participation in female athletic competitions and access to certain sex-designated private spaces.
Virginia’s regulatory website lists the action as withdrawn on July 30 after the public-comment period had ended. The proposal followed a 2025 petition from female athletes who asked the state to adopt rules based on biological sex for women’s sports and spaces such as locker rooms.
The Virginia Board of Health voted in August 2025 to begin the regulatory process, and Youngkin later approved a notice of intended regulatory action.
Spanberger said in September that her administration concluded the Board of Health lacked legal authority to move forward with the rulemaking. Supporters of the withdrawn proposal disputed that decision and argued that the rules were needed to address fairness, privacy and safety concerns for female athletes.
The withdrawal ended that particular regulatory process; it did not itself resolve broader state or federal disputes over transgender participation in school and collegiate athletics.
