Colorado Ballot Measures 134 and 135 Target Transgender Youth Care

Two statewide measures, Proposition 134 and Proposition 135, are scheduled for the November 3 ballot in Colorado. If approved, the measures would alter how schools verify a student’s sex and would prohibit certain gender-affirming surgeries for minors. The initiatives have sparked a debate over the rights and medical care of transgender and nonbinary youth.

The Advocate

Proposition 134 would require schools—from elementary levels through college—to place students on sports teams based on the measure’s definition of “biological sex” rather than gender identity. The text does not mandate physical examinations but leaves verification methods to individual districts. Proposition 135 would ban surgeries that “alter biological sex characteristics” when performed in response to a minor’s gender identity.

The Advocate

A memorandum from the Colorado Legislative Council staff estimates there are about 56,000 transgender and nonbinary residents in the state. Opponents contend that the vague enforcement language could restrict access to gender-affirming care and expose both cisgender and transgender students to invasive scrutiny. Colorado’s recent history includes anti-discrimination statutes that protect gender identity and allow gender-aligned participation in sports, restrooms and locker rooms; the ballot measures would reverse many of those protections.

The Advocate

• “It’s giving too much power [to the] government over decisions where trusted professionals and families should be making decisions — medical decisions — for their young people,” — Nadine Bridges, executive director of One Colorado

The Advocate