(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to take up two cases in its next term on laws banning transgender women from participating in girls and women’s sports, based on biological sex.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. The cases come out of Idaho and West Virginia, respectively, where individual athletes filed suit in the states alleging discrimination on the basis of sex.
In Idaho, the 2020 Fairness in Women’s Sports Act placed a categorical ban on participation of transgender women and girls from competing in women’s and girls sports across all ages and levels of competition. The act also allowed any student to “dispute” the sex of any student participating in female athletics and required that athlete to undergo medical procedures to verify sex.
Lindsay Hecox, a transgender athlete, sued the state and an Idaho district court enjoined the order on the basis of sex discrimination. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s judgment and prevented the Idaho law from going into effect.
In West Virginia, the Save Women’s Sports Act prevented biological males from competing in girls and womens sports across the state. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 13-year-old transgender girl, challenged the law.
Pepper-Jackson said she identified as transgender since third grade and was taking puberty-blocking medication. The law prevented Pepper-Jackson from participating on the cross-country team.
The West Virginia district court decided the case did not discriminate on the basis of sex and the state’s law was constitutional. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision.
The Supreme Court took up the West Virginia case in 2023 and decided to vacate the circuit court’s decision, sending it back to the lower court.
In each case, the state governments filed petitions to the Supreme Court and were granted a hearing.
Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president at the advocacy group Defending Education, celebrated the court’s decision to take up each case.
“To those of us who have been advocating for common sense athletic policies separating boys and girls based on notions of fairness, safety, equality, and the black letter text of Title IX – we are, today, breathing a sigh of relief,” Perry said.
“It appears the grownups are finally in the room, and the Court is likely to – based on its recent jurisprudence – overturn the decisions of the 4th and 9th Circuits striking down women’s sports protection laws,” she added.
The court’s next term will begin in October. Arguments are likely to be heard in the fall with a decision coming out in spring 2026.
‘We look forward to continuing to vigorously defend the cause of educational equality in the coming months until all women and girls can reclaim their rightful spots on athletic fields across the nation,” Perry said
