Initiative Measure 442: Sex-Separate School and College Athletics (Fairness for Girls)
Statewide — all of Nebraska
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Initiative Measure 442 is a citizen initiative. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen certified it for the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot on Sept. 11, 2026, and the number was assigned at random from 440-442. The Examiner reported that signature fraud allegations affected all four statewide ballot-measure petitions, that six out-of-state circulators had been arrested in a criminal investigation, and that one other initiative (from Respect Nebraska Voters) was removed from the ballot by the Nebraska Supreme Court. The measure was sponsored by the Fairness for Girls campaign and writes into the Constitution part of a 2025 state law on sex-separate teams.[2]
- The Nebraska Examiner reported on Sept. 11 that a challenge to the petition language was pending (a Lancaster County district judge had ruled against it that week). On Oct. 16, 2026 the Nebraska Supreme Court unanimously (7-0) upheld the measure's validity in an opinion by Justice Derek Vaughn, and the measure appears on the ballot as Initiative Measure 442, according to the Nebraska Examiner report carried by WOWT.[2][3]
The question on the ballot
Shall the Nebraska Constitution be amended to provide: (1) Schools must expressly designate each athletic team or sport as one of the following based on biological sex: (a) Males, men, or boys; (b) females, women, or girls; or (c) coed or mixed; and (2) Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex? The amendment would apply to all athletic teams or sports sponsored by public schools or postsecondary educational institutions, and private schools or educational institutions whose athletic teams or sports compete against public schools or institutions.[1]
Initiative 442 would add a new section 16 to Article VII of the Nebraska Constitution requiring schools to designate each athletic team or sport as male, female, or coed/mixed based on biological sex, and barring students of the male sex from teams designated for females. It covers interscholastic, intercollegiate and intramural teams sponsored by public schools and public colleges, and private schools and colleges whose teams compete against them. The section is self-executing, and if any part conflicts with federal law it is to be implemented to the maximum extent federal law permits.[1]
A YES vote means
A vote FOR will amend the Nebraska Constitution to require schools to designate athletic teams or sports as male, female, or coed/mixed based on biological sex, and to bar students of the male sex from teams designated for females, women, or girls, for public schools and colleges and private schools and colleges that compete against them.
A NO vote means
A vote AGAINST means the Nebraska Constitution will not be amended in this manner.
The law today
Nebraska already has a 2025 state law, Legislative Bill 89 by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth, requiring student-athletes in public K-12 and college sports to compete on teams matching their sex at birth. The Examiner reports the amendment would seek to constitutionally cement that law; the ballot language does not define "sex" in the Constitution itself and relies on the definition in state law.[4]
Arguments made for
Arguments made against
- Official pamphlet, opponents contend: “Initiative 442 adds unnecessary limits on participation in girls’ sports into the Nebraska State Constitution.”[1]
- Official pamphlet, opponents contend: “It would also empower bad actors to unfairly cast doubt on young athletes who don’t fit within traditional gender expectations.”[1]
On record in support
- Fairness for Girls, the sponsoring initiative committee, led by a committee that includes University of Nebraska Regent Rob Schafer, former State Sen. Julie Slama and Elizabeth Nunnally of the Nebraska Family Alliance. The group said in a statement: "Nebraskans support preserving opportunities for young girls, protecting female athletes' safety, and keeping the process fair."[4]
On record in opposition
- Rainbow Parents of Nebraska, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, called the petition effort "another distraction and an attempt to increase conservative voter turnout" in a social media post reported by the Examiner in March 2026.[4]
Campaign money
Filings with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, as reported by Nebraska Public Media, show Fairness for Girls raised $3.1 million in contributions in an April 2026 filing (reported May 21, 2026), all from Restore the Good Life Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. No opposition committee totals were found.[5]
Research notes & limits
Arguments are the 'Supporters contend' and 'Opponents contend' statements printed in the Secretary of State's official pamphlet, which says they are 'derived from information provided to the Secretary of State from supporters and opponents'; the pamphlet does not name the authors. The revenue figures in the arguments are the arguments' own claims, not an official fiscal estimate. Each argument item is a separate sentence from the same paragraph. The Supreme Court's Oct. 16 ruling resolved the pending petition-language challenge. No official fiscal estimate was found in the pamphlet. Supporter and opponent entries come from the Nebraska Examiner's March 2026 report; the finance figure is from a single April 2026 filing as reported, not an up-to-date total.
Sources · 5
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.Informational Pamphlet on Initiative Measures Appearing on the 2026 General Election Ballot · Nebraska Secretary of State Official record
- 2.Secretary of State Evnen certifies Nebraska’s fall 2026 ballot after lawsuit-heavy summer · Nebraska Examiner · 2026-09-11 News report
- 3.Nebraska Supreme Court upholds validity of Fairness for Girls ballot measure · WOWT (Nebraska Examiner) · 2026-10-16 News report
- 4.Nebraska group wants to limit school sports participation by sex in state constitution · Nebraska Examiner · 2026-03-09 News report
- 5.Dark money group funds Nebraska initiative to limit sports participation to biological sex · Nebraska Public Media · 2026-05-21 News report