Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will consider whether states can prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports, setting up a high-profile clash that could have far-reaching implications across the country.
The justices agreed to consider whether laws from Idaho and West Virginia that prevent transgender girls and women from competing in female athletics violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and Title IX. The cases involving transgender rights come after the court’s conservative majority upheld a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Beginning in its next term in October, the Supreme Court will review lower court decisions that found the Idaho and West Virginia laws discriminate against transgender athletes.
The issue of transgender athletes participating in girls’ and women’s sports has exploded at the state level in recent years. Idaho was the first state to pass a law prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women and girls’ sports, and two dozen have since followed suit. Roughly half of the states have also passed laws that bar certain medical treatments for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.
At the federal level, President Trump signed an executive order in February that aimed to ban transgender girls and women from competing on sports teams that match their gender identity. The president’s order directs that under Title IX, the landmark law banning sex discrimination in schools, educational institutions that receive federal funds cannot “deny women an equal opportunity to participate in sports.”
