White House petitions Supreme Court to allow it to implement passport policy

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to hear two cases that challenged a ban that would ban transgender youth from participating in school sports.

Littlev. At Hecox, plaintiffs, represented by ACLU, Legal Voice and law firm Cooley, are challenging Idaho’s 2020 ban.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals explained the process in its 2023 decision to halt policy enforcement until the outcome of the case emerges. “The gender dispute verification process allows individuals to “contest” the gender of female student athletes in Idaho,” the court wrote.

West Virginia v. BPJ, Lambda Regal, ACLU, West Virginia ACLU and Cooley represent trans middle school students challenging the ban on mountain state trans athletes.

The plaintiff was involved in cross-country when the law was passed and would have received an adolescent blocker, significantly reducing her chances of having a physiological advantage over her cisgender peers.

“Like other educational programs, school athletic programs should be accessible to everyone, regardless of gender or transgender status,” said Joshua Block, senior advisor to the ACLU LGBTQ and HIV projects. “Trans kids play sports for the same reasons as their peers. Learn to patience, dedication, teamwork and simply have fun with friends,” Brock said.

He said, “To decisively exclude children from school sports simply because they are transgender, is what makes our school a safer and more harmful place for all young people. The lower courts believe it is right to block these discriminatory laws and will continue to defend the freedom of all children to play.”

“Our clients just want to play sports with her friends and peers,” said Tara Borelli, senior legal advisor at Lambda. “Everyone understands the value of participating in Team Athletics for fitness, leadership, socialization and countless other benefits.”

Borelli continued. “The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit last April issued a thoughtful and thorough ruling that would allow BPJ to continue participating in track events.

Congressional Republicans attempted to pass a national ban, such as that enforced in 27 states since 2020, shortly after managing both legislative rooms.