Nebraska voters weigh Measure 442 on school sports

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Nebraska voters heading to the polls will decide more than races for elected office. They will also have a say on rules governing participation in school sports through Ballot Measure 442.

The measure would require school sports teams to be designated as male, female or co-ed and would restrict participation on female teams to female students. The rules would be placed in the Nebraska Constitution.

But how important is the issue to voters as they cast their ballots?

I spoke with about 10 early voters and started by asking an open-ended question: What mattered when you cast your ballot?

Eight cited the cost of living. Only two brought up Measure 442 on their own.

One voter who supported the measure said the issue was important because of concerns about transgender students participating on girls' teams and using girls' locker rooms.

"The men in women's sports is pretty big as well," the voter said. "I'm uncomfortable with the thought of my granddaughter having males in her locker room when she's changing."

Another voter expressed the opposite view, saying transgender students should be allowed to participate in sports.

"Letting transgender students in sports, that was definitely on my mind," the voter said. "I think that transgender students should be able to play in sport and not get classified as boys and girls and stuff like that."

When I asked other voters directly about the measure, opinions remained divided.

One voter questioned the significance of the issue.

"I think that's not nearly as big an issue as they want to make it out to be," he said. "It's kind of a distraction."

Another voter said he viewed the issue from the standpoint of physical differences between male and female athletes.

"From a male perspective, I would say that biologically they're stronger," he said. "I think that should be upheld from that perspective."

The Nebraska School Activities Association provided numbers that offer context on the scale of the issue.

According to the NSAA, major sports averaged roughly 65,000 participants per year from 2018 through 2025. During that period, transgender students submitted just 8 applications to the association's Gender Participation Committee across all sports.

The NSAA changed its participation policy following a 2025 state law and says it can make additional changes when required.

Nebraska voters will ultimately decide whether the school sports rules outlined in Measure 442 should become part of the state constitution.

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