US Supreme Court upholds bans on trans women in female school, college sports
In a significant 6-3 majority, the US Supreme Court upheld laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar trans women and girls from competing on female sports teams in schools and colleges, clearing the way for states to enforce similar restrictions on transgender student athletes.
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for states to enforce restrictions on transgender student athletes, upholding laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar trans women and girls from competing on female sports teams in schools and colleges.
In a significant ruling, the court's 6-3 conservative majority overturned lower-court decisions that had sided with transgender students challenging the laws. The measures require public school and university sports teams to be designated according to "biological sex" and prohibit students classified as male at birth from participating in female sports.
The decision is expected to have nationwide implications, with 25 other states having enacted similar laws governing transgender participation in school and collegiate athletics.
Idaho and West Virginia argued that the restrictions are necessary to ensure fair and safe competition for women and girls. Supporters of the laws have maintained that biological differences can provide competitive advantages in certain sports. Opponents, however, contend that the measures discriminate against transgender students and form part of a broader rollback of transgender rights in the United States.
The transgender students who challenged the laws argued that the restrictions violate the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment as well as Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education.
President Donald Trump's administration backed the states in the litigation. Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has issued a series of executive orders restricting transgender rights, including measures related to sports participation. His administration has broadly supported efforts to limit transgender participation in women's and girls' sports.
The ruling marks another major victory for conservative-led efforts to restrict transgender rights. It follows another significant Supreme Court decision last year that allowed states to ban certain gender-affirming medical treatments, including puberty blockers and hormone therapies, for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.
The court has also permitted Trump's ban on transgender military service members and backed his administration's passport policy, although it previously delivered a landmark ruling in 2020 holding that federal workplace discrimination protections extend to transgender employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
The challenge to West Virginia's law was brought by high school student Becky Pepper-Jackson and her mother, Heather Jackson. The Idaho case was filed by Lindsay Hecox, a transgender student at Boise State University. Hecox later stopped participating in sports and sought dismissal of the case, citing fears of harassment and growing hostility toward transgender people.
When the Supreme Court heard arguments in January, several conservative justices questioned whether courts should impose a nationwide standard amid ongoing debate over whether puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormone treatments eliminate physiological advantages that may affect athletic competition.
Tuesday's ruling, issued on the final day of the Supreme Court's current term, is likely to intensify the national debate over transgender rights, education policy and participation in competitive sports. It also strengthens the legal footing of similar laws already in force across much of the US.