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Transgender students would be banned from competing on school sports teams based on their gender identity under a bill that passed the Texas Senate on Thursday.

Despite immense , the upper chamber voted on an 18-12 vote to advance . The measure now heads to the Texas House.

The proposal would prohibit students from participating in a sport 鈥渢hat is designated for the biological sex opposite to the student鈥檚 biological sex as determined at the student鈥檚 birth.鈥� Students would be required to prove their 鈥渂iological sex鈥� by showing their original, unamended birth certificates.

State Sen. , R-Lubbock, argued on Wednesday that the prohibition is necessary to keep girls safe from injury and to retain fairness in interscholastic athletics. But Perry acknowledged that he doesn鈥檛 know of any transgender students currently competing in Texas school sports.

And medical professionals have largely debunked the argument that transgender athletes have an advantage, with showing people taking hormones did not have a significant performance edge in distance running.

Opponents said the Republican leadership-backed bill was a 鈥渇ear tactic鈥� in search of a problem that doesn鈥檛 exist.

鈥淭rans kids, they just know they are not what their birth certificate says,鈥� said state Sen. , D-San Antonio. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 where we鈥檙e creating a problem that we don鈥檛 need to.鈥�

The measure would codify existing school athletic policy. The University Interscholastic League of Texas, which governs high school athletics and extracurricular activities, currently relies on students鈥� birth certificates to determine whether they participate in men鈥檚 or women鈥檚 athletics. Notably, the UIL recognizes changes made to birth certificates to alter a student鈥檚 gender marker, though that would no longer be allowed under the proposal.

Both the NCAA, the governing body for college athletics, and the International Olympic Committee allow athletes to compete based on their gender identity.

State Sen. , D-Dallas, suggested that if lawmakers were truly concerned with player safety, they鈥檇 focus on legislating injury-prone contact sports such as football. He also worried that the proposal could be harmful to cisgender or nonbinary students whose gender expressions don鈥檛 align with traditional social constructs. And he questioned whether his colleagues were trying to legislate a situation that isn’t widespread.

鈥淚 think we spend a lot of time anticipating things that aren鈥檛 going to happen,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淚f this becomes a real problem, there might be a more subtle way we can handle it.鈥�

Wednesday afternoon, Equality Texas held a news conference outside the Capitol building in Austin to bring awareness to over 30 bills filed in the legislature that would discriminate against LGBTQ youth. Ricardo Martinez, the organization鈥檚 CEO, noted that the first of these anti-trans bills was filed 156 days ago, on the first day of bill filing for this session.

鈥淭hat day kicked off the Texas portion of a nationally-coordinated attack on our community,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淭his attack, which intentionally targets transgender and intersex youth, who are some of the most vulnerable members of our community, is especially cruel given that we鈥檙e still in a deadly pandemic.鈥�

Landon Richie, an 18-year-old transgender Texan, skipped his classes at the University of Houston to speak outside the Capitol Wednesday.

鈥淭rans kids belong in Texas and deserve the same rights, access to health care, access to sports, access to public facilities, as any other Texan,鈥� Richie said.

Mack Beggs, a transgender athlete from Texas, garnered national headlines after he in 2017 and 2018. Beggs competed in the women’s division because the UIL ruled he had to compete against the gender that appeared on his birth certificate. Attorney Jim Baudhuin sued the UIL in 2017, arguing that Beggs posed an injury risk to other athletes and possessed an unfair advantage. A Travis County judge the case.

鈥淢entally, it took a toll on me,鈥� Beggs last month. 鈥淚 think we need to have resources in place for other [trans] kids who are in those positions.鈥�

He spoke out against proposals like SB 29, calling them “revolting and honestly appalling.”

The move by the Texas Senate is part of a national push by conservatives to restrict rights for transgender students. Similar bills have been filed in at least 20 states. Three states 鈥� Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee 鈥� earlier this year signed the prohibition into law.

Idaho was the first state to pass a law seeking to block transgender youth from sports last March. The law has been and has been blocked by a federal judge as the legal challenge proceeds through the courts.

On Monday, the that it will only hold college championships in states where transgender student-athletes can participate without discrimination.

鈥淚nclusion and fairness can coexist for all student-athletes, including transgender athletes, at all levels of sport,鈥� the NCAA statement said. 鈥淥ur clear expectation as the Association鈥檚 top governing body is that all student-athletes will be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to ensuring that NCAA championships are open for all who earn the right to compete in them.鈥�

Multiple games in the 2022 NCAA men鈥檚 March Madness tournament are already scheduled to be played in Fort Worth and San Antonio and the 2024 college football national championship is slated for NRG Stadium in Houston.

Disclosure: Equality Texas and University of Houston have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete .

Shawn Mulcahy is a reporting fellow at , the only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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