The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday (July 3) added two similar cases from two states to the docket for the next term. Both Idaho and West Virginia have enacted legislation banning transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports teams, and both bans have faced injunctions from appellate courts.
According to court documents, about half of the states in the U.S. have similar laws. The Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether states can legislate to prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports competitions in the future.
Transgender girls, in general, refer to individuals assigned male at birth who later identify as females in terms of gender identity.
The Supreme Court justices announced that they will hear appeals from Idaho and West Virginia regarding the rulings from the appellate courts.
Earlier rulings from the appellate courts halted the enforcement of the bans issued by the governments of these two states. The appellate courts ruled that Idaho’s law targeting transgender individuals violated the constitutional equal protection provision, while another appellate court ruled that West Virginia’s law violated Title IX of the Constitution, which prohibits discrimination based on gender.
Court arguments for these cases are expected to take place in the fall, with the Supreme Court’s decision expected before June 2026.
This will mark the third significant ruling by the Supreme Court in recent years on issues related to transgender individuals.
Last month, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law that prohibits providing transgender medical services to minors. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal law prohibits discrimination against transgender individuals in employment.
Additionally, the Supreme Court approved the policy of the Trump administration to ban transgender individuals from serving in the military.
In May, the Supreme Court granted an emergency request from the Trump administration, lifting injunctions from lower courts on the ban, allowing Trump to continue enforcing the ban prohibiting transgender individuals from joining the military and mandating that transgender individuals currently serving must be discharged. Three liberal justices of the Supreme Court dissented from this decision.
The lawsuit in West Virginia was originally filed in 2021 by a transgender middle school student, Becky Pepper-Jackson. She has represented teams aligned with her gender identity in multiple athletic seasons and seeks to try out for the school girls’ cross-country team.
West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey praised the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the state’s case on Thursday, expressing confidence that the justices will uphold the effectiveness of the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act.”
In a statement, McCuskey said, “This will be a great day as the voices of female athletes in West Virginia will be heard. West Virginians understand deeply that allowing male athletes to compete against females is unfair. That is why we passed this common-sense law to protect women’s sports.”
In fact, the West Virginia lawsuit was urgently appealed to the Supreme Court in 2023 to overturn injunctions issued by the federal appellate court regarding the state law. At that time, the Supreme Court rejected the state’s request, with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas casting dissenting votes, indicating they would have allowed the state ban to take effect.
In 2020, challengers filed a lawsuit against Idaho’s law.
This marked the nation’s first law banning transgender females from participating in school sports, and requiring invasive testing for athletes with gender uncertainty.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador stated in a release, “Men and women are biologically different, and we hope the courts will allow states to end this injustice.”
Challengers included Lindsay Hecox, a transgender freshman at Boise State University at the time, who sought to compete in track and field.
Another challenger was a 17-year-old transgender girl attending Boise High School, expressing concerns about being subjected to invasive gender verification testing under the new law.
As of now, 27 states in the U.S. have passed laws prohibiting transgender students from participating on sports teams aligning with their gender identity. The NCAA also voted in February this year to restrict transgender females from participating in women’s athletic events following an executive order by former President Trump.
(Note: This article references reporting from POLITICO.)