Overview

• The State Board of Health voted to publish a Notice of Intended Regulatory Action, with 13 of 15 members present voting in favor at Thursday’s meeting.
• Executive Directive 14 instructs regulators to draft rules blocking biological males from female-only athletic teams and from using female-designated spaces where people may be undressed.
• The move follows an August petition from three collegiate athletes, including former Virginia Tech swimmer Réka György.
• After executive review, a 30-day public comment window will open before drafting proposed regulations, and the full rulemaking could take up to two years.
• Civil-rights advocates, including the ACLU, warn of legal challenges and say enforcement could lead to gender policing and sex testing, while Youngkin publicly aligned the effort with Trump administration policies and recent federal actions affecting Northern Virginia schools.