Veto AB 100 - Protect Wisconsin Students’ Mental Health and Safety

I urge you to immediately veto AB 100 and issue a strong public statement defending the dignity and safety of all Wisconsin students. This legislation passed the Senate 18-15 on February 11th and threatens the mental health and wellbeing of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth across our state. AB 100 singles out vulnerable students for exclusion from school athletics based solely on their gender identity. Research consistently demonstrates that transgender youth already face alarming rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation—rates that spike dramatically when they experience rejection and discrimination in school settings. Athletic participation is a critical protective factor that provides mental health benefits, peer connection, and a sense of belonging that can literally save lives. By forcing schools to exclude these students from sports teams consistent with their gender identity, AB 100 weaponizes our education system against the most vulnerable children. It sends a devastating message that they don’t belong, that their identities are invalid, and that their wellbeing doesn’t matter. The psychological harm of state-sanctioned rejection is profound and long-lasting. This legislation also places impossible burdens on school administrators, coaches, and counselors who understand that their duty is to support all students’ healthy development—not to police their bodies or enforce discriminatory mandates that contradict evidence-based best practices in adolescent mental health care. Wisconsin students deserve better. They deserve schools that are safe havens where every child can participate, belong, and thrive—not battlegrounds where political ideology trumps student welfare. I strongly urge you to: ∙ Veto AB 100 immediately ∙ Issue a clear public statement affirming Wisconsin’s commitment to protecting all students’ mental health and dignity ∙ Reaffirm that discrimination has no place in our schools Our children are watching. Please stand with them.