Latest news with #Pepper-Jackson
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US supreme court to weigh transgender student sports bans in key rights case
The US supreme court announced on Thursday that it will consider a bid by West Virginia and Idaho to enforce their state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public sector schools. The decision means the court is prepared to take up another civil rights challenge to Republican-backed restrictions on transgender people. The justices took up the state appeals of lower court decisions siding with a transgender students who sued. The students argued that the laws discriminate based on sex and transgender status in violation of the US constitution's 14th amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law as well as the Title IX civil rights law that bars sex-based discrimination in education. The supreme court is expected to hear arguments on the matter during its next term, which begins in October. A total of 27 states, most of them Republican-governed, have passed laws in recent years restricting participation in sports by transgender people. The Idaho and West Virginia laws designate sports teams at public schools according to 'biological sex' and bar 'students of the male sex' from female athletic teams. The issue of transgender rights is a flashpoint in what has become a culture war in the US. Donald Trump, upon taking back the White House, has signed executive orders declaring that the federal government will officially recognize only two sexes – male and female – as well as attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports. Trump also rescinded orders by his predecessor, Joe Biden, combating discrimination against gay and transgender people. The supreme court in a major ruling in June upheld a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The 6-3 ruling powered by the court's conservative majority found that the ban does not violate the US constitution's 14th amendment promise of equal protection, as challengers to the law had argued. The challengers had argued that the measure unlawfully discriminated against these adolescents based on their sex or transgender status. The supreme court's three liberal justices dissented. The supreme court in May also allowed Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military to take effect. The challenge to the West Virginia law was brought by Becky Pepper-Jackson and the student's mother in 2021 after Pepper-Jackson's middle school barred her from joining the girls' cross-country and track teams due to the state's ban. A federal judge ruled in Pepper-Jackson's favor at an early stage of the case, but later reversed course and sided with the state. The supreme court in 2023 refused the state's bid to enforce the law as litigation proceeded. The Richmond, Virginia-based fourth US circuit court of appeals in April threw out the judge's decision, ruling that the law's exclusion of Pepper-Jackson from girls' teams violates the Title IX law. The state law treats transgender girls differently from other girls, 'which is - literally - the definition of gender identity discrimination', the fourth circuit ruling stated, adding that this is also discrimination on the basis of sex under Title IX. The Idaho challenge was brought by Lindsay Hecox, a transgender Boise State University student who had sought to join the women's track and cross-country teams, but failed to qualify. Hecox has instead participated in sports clubs, including soccer and running, at the public university. A federal judge blocked Idaho's law in 2020, finding that Idaho's law likely violates the constitutional equal protection guarantee. The San Francisco-based ninth US circuit court of appeals upheld the judge's action in 2023 and, in an amended ruling, in 2024. The measure unlawfully discriminates based on sex and transgender status, the ninth circuit concluded. Reuters contributed reporting
Global News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Global News
U.S. Supreme Court to consider state restrictions for transgender athletes
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case over state restrictions on which school sports teams transgender students can join. Just two weeks after upholding a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the justices said they will review lower court rulings in favor of transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia. The nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls on girls sports teams has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court. At the federal level, the Trump administration has filed lawsuits and launched investigations over state and school policies that have allowed transgender athletes to compete freely. Story continues below advertisement This week, the University of Pennsylvania modified a trio of school records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and said it would apologize to female athletes 'disadvantaged' by her participation on the women's swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Republican President Donald Trump also has acted aggressively in other areas involving transgender people, including removing transgender troops from military service. In May, the Supreme Court allowed the ouster of transgender service members to proceed, reversing lower courts that had blocked it. The new case will be argued in the fall. 3:54 Trump admin sues Maine for defying transgender athlete ban West Virginia is appealing a lower-court ruling that found the ban violates the rights of Becky Pepper-Jackson, who has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade. Pepper-Jackson sued the state when she in was middle school because she wanted to compete on the cross country and track teams. Story continues below advertisement This past school year, Pepper-Jackson qualified for the West Virginia girls high school state track meet, finishing third in the discus throw and eighth in the shot put in the Class AAA division. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Pepper-Jackson in two areas, under the Constitution's equal protection clause and the landmark federal law known as Title IX that forbids sex discrimination in education. Idaho in 2020 became the first state in the nation to ban transgender women and girls from playing on women's sports teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universities. The American Civil Liberties Union and the women's rights group Legal Voice sued Idaho on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, who hoped to run for Boise State University. The state asked for Supreme Court review after lower courts blocked the state's ban while the lawsuit continues. The justices did not act on a third case from Arizona that raises the same issue.
New York Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Supreme Court to review state bans on transgender athletes in girls' sports
The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case that will determine whether transgender female student athletes can be prevented from joining girls and women's sports teams at public schools. The justices are set to hear challenges to laws in Idaho and West Virginia after lower court rulings in sided with transgender students who sued when they were blocked from competing. 'I am optimistic that after hearing the case, the Supreme Court will restore sanity to athletics and allow West Virginia to enforce its commonsense law that prevents boys from competing in girl's sports,' Mountain State Gov. Patrick Morrisey fired off in an X post. Advertisement The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to review whether transgender student athletes can be banned from joining female sports teams at public schools. AP Twenty-seven states have passed laws in recent years that restrict participation in female sports for male-to-female trans students. In Idaho and West Virginia specifically, state laws specify that sports teams at public schools are based on 'biological sex' and ban 'students of the male sex' from joining female athletic teams. Advertisement The challenge to the West Virginia law was brought by Becky Pepper-Jackson in 2021 after her middle school banned her from joining the girls' cross country and track teams. Pepper-Jackson has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade. The justices are set to hear two cases out of Idaho and West Virginia after earlier lower court rulings in each state sided with transgender students who sued. Getty Images A federal judge initially ruled in the student's favor at an early stage of the case, but later reversed course and ended up siding with the state. Advertisement The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Jackson's exclusion from girls' teams violated Title IX, which forbids sex discrimination in education. '[Pepper-Jackson] has been publicly living as a girl for more than five years. During that time, her elementary and middle schools created gender support plans to affirm her gender identity and ensure she is recognized as a girl at school,' the appeals court ruling read. 'To align with her gender identity, [Pepper-Jackson] has changed her name, and the State of West Virginia (whose Act is challenged here) has issued a birth certificate that recognizes her changed name and lists her sex as female. [Pepper-Jackson] also takes puberty blocking medication to prevent her body from experiencing male adolescent development and estrogen hormone therapy, which is leading her to develop the outward physical characteristics—including fat distribution, pelvic shape, and bone size—of an adolescent female. Her family, teachers, and classmates have all known [Pepper-Jackson] as a girl for several years, and—beginning in elementary school—she has participated only on girls athletic teams. 'Given these facts, offering [Pepper-Jackson] a 'choice' between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all.' Meanwhile, the Idaho challenge was brought by Lindsay Hecox — a trans Boise State University student who had tried to join the women's track and cross-country teams, but failed to qualify. Advertisement Instead, Hecox has participating in sports clubs, including soccer and running, at the public university. A federal judge blocked Idaho's law in 2020, ruling that it likely violated the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause and unlawfully discriminated based on sex and transgender status. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld initial ruling in 2023 and again in an amended ruling last year. While the Supreme Court agreed to take up the cases from Idaho and West Virginia, the justices opted not to act on a third case from Arizona that raises the same issue. The cases will be heard sometime after the justices convene for the new court term Oct. 6. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban on transgender puberty blockers and hormone therapy treatments for minors — a major win for states that have similar laws on the books. With Post wires
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Supreme Court will take up new case about which school sports teams transgender students can join
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case over state restrictions on which school sports teams transgender students can join. Just two weeks after upholding a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the justices said they will review lower court rulings in favor of transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia. The nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls on girls sports teams has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court. At the federal level, the Trump administration has filed lawsuits and launched investigations over state and school policies that have allowed transgender athletes to compete freely. This week, the University of Pennsylvania modified a trio of school records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and said it would apologize to female athletes 'disadvantaged' by her participation on the women's swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case. Republican President Donald Trump also has acted aggressively in other areas involving transgender people, including removing transgender troops from military service. In May, the Supreme Court allowed the ouster of transgender service members to proceed, reversing lower courts that had blocked it. The new case will be argued in the fall. West Virginia is appealing a lower-court ruling that found the ban violates the rights of Becky Pepper-Jackson, who has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade. Pepper-Jackson sued the state when she in was middle school because she wanted to compete on the cross country and track teams. This past school year, Pepper-Jackson qualified for the West Virginia girls high school state track meet, finishing third in the discus throw and eighth in the shot put in the Class AAA division. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Pepper-Jackson in two areas, under the Constitution's equal protection clause and the landmark federal law known as Title IX that forbids sex discrimination in education. Idaho in 2020 became the first state in the nation to ban transgender women and girls from playing on women's sports teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universities. The American Civil Liberties Union and the women's rights group Legal Voice sued Idaho on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, who hoped to run for Boise State University. The state asked for Supreme Court review after lower courts blocked the state's ban while the lawsuit continues. The justices did not act on a third case from Arizona that raises the same issue.
San Francisco Chronicle
03-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Supreme Court will take up a new case about which school sports teams transgender students can join
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case over state restrictions on which school sports teams transgender students can join. Just two weeks after upholding a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth, the justices said they will review lower court rulings in favor of transgender athletes in Idaho and West Virginia. The nationwide battle over the participation of transgender girls on girls sports teams has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans have leveraged the issue as a fight for athletic fairness for women and girls. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court. At the federal level, the Trump administration has filed lawsuits and launched investigations over state and school policies that have allowed transgender athletes to compete freely. This week, the University of Pennsylvania modified a trio of school records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and said it would apologize to female athletes 'disadvantaged' by her participation on the women's swimming team, part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case. Republican President Donald Trump also has acted aggressively in other areas involving transgender people, including removing transgender troops from military service. In May, the Supreme Court allowed the ouster of transgender service members to proceed, reversing lower courts that had blocked it. The new case will be argued in the fall. West Virginia is appealing a lower-court ruling that found the ban violates the rights of Becky Pepper-Jackson, who has been taking puberty-blocking medication and has publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade. Pepper-Jackson sued the state when she in was middle school because she wanted to compete on the cross country and track teams. This past school year, Pepper-Jackson qualified for the West Virginia girls high school state track meet, finishing third in the discus throw and eighth in the shot put in the Class AAA division. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Pepper-Jackson in two areas, under the Constitution's equal protection clause and the landmark federal law known as Title IX that forbids sex discrimination in education. Idaho in 2020 became the first state in the nation to ban transgender women and girls from playing on women's sports teams sponsored by public schools, colleges and universities.
