PHOENIX, AZ — The Arizona House of Representatives Tuesday narrowly passed a bill that, if approved in the Senate and signed by the governor, would bar female transgender athletes from competing on girls’ teams in school sports.

House Bill 2706 prohibits transgender athletes from playing on teams that align with their gender identity rather than their biological sex at birth.

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The “Save Women’s Sports Act” states that sports programs sponsored by an educational institution in Arizona must designate its teams for “males, men or boys,” “females, women or girls” or “coed or mixed sex” based on biological sex.

The bill goes on to say: “Athletic teams or sports designated for females, women or girls may not be open to students of the male sex.”

The bill passed the House by a 31-29 vote Tuesday. You can see the bill in full here.

Its proponents say the bill ensures a level playing field for female athletes.

Republican Rep. Nancy Barto, who introduced the bill, told the Arizona Daily Star, “Anyone who cares about making sure that … women are playing on a level playing field wants to see a bill that’s going to clarify that women will have that going forward in Arizona.”

“We want to make sure that my granddaughters and their offspring, that the future of Arizona, has women’s sports in its future,” she said.

Republican Rep. Rusty Bowers sided with Barto, telling the newspaper the bill is intended to protect female athletes and uphold Title IX, the civil rights law that ensures equal opportunity for women in sports.

Barto told the Daily Star she believes the Arizona Interscholastic Association — which already has a policy on transgender athletes and gender identity participation — has insufficient rules to protect female athletes.

“It’s harming women to allow AIA to control,” she told the publication.

The AIA’s policy currently allows students to play for teams that align with their gender identity if they first go through an appeals process that includes alerting the school their gender identity does not match what is shown on their school registration records.

The process also includes providing a letter from the student, a description of the student’s “gender story” and letters of support from parents, school administrators and a health care provider.

David Hines, executive director of AIA, told Capital Media Services the organization had about 10 cases in recent years where in a student was allowed to play for a team that did not match the gender they were assigned at birth. Of those, “about six” were transgender females.

The bill’s opponents said it does little to protect girls sports but is instead a direct attack on LGBTQ youth in the state.

In a video posted online Thursday, a group of Arizona Democrats voiced their dissent for the bill.

“I am really, really saddened that we are here on this day debating whether we should allow trans children — we are talking about children — to play in sports in our public schools,” said Rep. Alma Hernandez. “This is a direct attack on the LGBTQ community. This isn’t about women’s rights; this isn’t about women’s health.”

Rep. Athena Salman, who was among dissenters, explained why she chose to vote against the bill.

“People left the gallery today heartbroken and in tears, unable to stomach the witnessing of the chipping away at their human rights,” Salman said. “Trans girls are girls, and trans rights are human rights. And it’s because of those reasons I vote no on House Bill 2706.”

The bill permits students to dispute the prohibition on an individual basis. It states that “a student may establish the student’s sex by presenting a signed physician’s statement that indicates the student’s sex based only on all of the following factors.”

Those factors include the student’s internal and external reproductive anatomy, her “normal endogenously produced levels of testosterone” and an analysis of her genetic makeup.

The bill does provide some protective language, allowing legal action for students who are subject to “retaliation or other adverse action.”

“Any student who is deprived of an athletic opportunity or suffers a direct or indirect harm as a result of a violation of this section has a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages and any other relief available under law against the educational institution,” the bill states.

Earlier this year, Tennessee lawmakers proposed House Bill 1572, which similarly seeks to guarantee its public elementary and secondary schools “ensure that student athletes participate in school-sanctioned sports based on the student’s biological sex as indicated on certificate issued at time of birth,” ABC News reported.