Supreme Court Rules States May Restrict Girls' Sports to Biological Females

Ruling allows states to keep girls' sports limited to biological females

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that states may limit girls’ and women’s school sports teams to biological females, handing supporters of such laws a major victory in one of the nation’s most closely watched legal battles over transgender athletes.

In a 6-3 decision, the court held that both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment permit states to determine eligibility for female sports teams based on biological sex. The ruling reverses lower court decisions involving laws in West Virginia and Idaho and sends the cases back for further proceedings.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said Title IX allows schools to maintain separate teams for males and females based on biological sex. He wrote that such policies serve important interests in athletic safety and competitive fairness.

“The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women’s and girls’ sports throughout America,” Kavanaugh wrote.

The case centered on West Virginia’s Save Women’s Sports Act and Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. Both laws prohibit biological males from competing on girls’ and women’s school sports teams. West Virginia enacted its law in 2021, while Idaho passed a similar measure in 2020.

The lawsuits were brought by transgender students who argued the laws violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause by excluding them from girls’ sports. The Supreme Court rejected those claims.

The majority concluded that the word “sex” in Title IX refers to biological sex, noting that Congress enacted the law in 1972 to expand athletic opportunities for women and girls. The court also pointed to longstanding federal regulations allowing schools to field separate teams for males and females in competitive sports.

The court further held that the states’ interests in protecting athlete safety and ensuring competitive fairness satisfy constitutional requirements for sex-based classifications. The justices said states are not required to make individual exceptions for transgender athletes who have taken puberty blockers or hormone treatments.

The ruling comes as at least 27 states have enacted laws restricting participation in girls’ and women’s sports based on biological sex, according to the court’s opinion.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Jackson also wrote a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.

The decision establishes that states may continue enforcing laws limiting participation on girls’ and women’s school sports teams based on biological sex without violating Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause.