TOPEKA, Kan. (NEWSnet/AP) — New laws restricting team assignments for transgender student athletes have taken effect in Kansas, North Dakota and Wyoming, and a Missouri law takes effect at the end of this month, bringing the number of states with such restrictions to 23.

North Carolina could enact a ban later this month, and Ohio could follow in the fall. A few laws, including ones in Arizona and West Virginia, are on hold because of federal lawsuits.

The upcoming restrictions are part of a wave of legislation across the U.S. on transgender issues. Republican legislators in some states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, restricted transgender people’s use of school and public restrooms, limited what public schools can teach about gender and sexuality and barred schools from requiring the use of a transgender student's preferred pronouns.

The trend in school sports laws began in 2020, and most are aimed at transgender girls. A majority cover intramural contests within a single school as well as contests among different schools, and some restrict transgender boys as well.

Almost all say other students and their parents can sue schools that don’t enforce the restrictions.

Lawmakers expect a child’s earliest birth certificate to determine which sports teams they can join. Principals and coaches are expected to be the enforcers.

Supporters of the restrictions argue that they’re protecting fair competition and scholarship opportunities for young women that took decades to win.

Critics argue that transgender athletes are so few that schools and associations governing school sports can handle their individual cases without a state law. Others worry that challenges will emerge for girls who happen to be taller or more muscular than their peers.

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