Latest news with #Pepper-Jackson
Global News
a day ago
- 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
a day ago
- 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
a day ago
- 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
a day ago
- 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.
NBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Supreme Court to rule on state transgender student sports bans
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday waded into the legal fight over state laws that ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women's school and college sports, taking up cases from West Virginia and Idaho. The court will hear cases involving two transgender students, Becky Pepper-Jackson and Lindsay Hecox, who challenged state bans in West Virginia and Idaho, respectively. Both won injunctions that allow them to continue to compete in sports. Pepper-Jackson, now 15, takes puberty blocking medication, while Hecox, a 24-year-old college student, has received testosterone suppression and estrogen treatments. The court's decision to hear the case comes two weeks after the conservative majority delivered a major blow to transgender rights by upholding a Tennessee law that bans gender-affirming for young people. In doing so, the court left various legal questions about transgender rights unresolved. Oral arguments will likely take place later this year, with a ruling expected by June 2026. The states both enacted bans that categorically bar transgender students from participating in girls or women's sports. More than half the 50 states now have such laws, but legal challenges have not been decisively resolved. The fight for and against the expansion of transgender rights has become a flashpoint nationwide and was an issue in the recent presidential election, with Donald Trump denigrating Democrats for supporting the effort. His administration has begun to roll back measures taken by President Joe Biden to expand protections for transgender people. In February, the National Collegiate Athletic Association also changed course, announcing a new policy to limit women's sports to 'student-athletes assigned female at birth only.' In Pepper-Jackson's case, a federal judge initially ruled in her favor but concluded in January 2023 that the law was most likely legal and allowed it to be enforced against her. Pepper-Jackson appealed, and the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked West Virginia officials from enforcing it against her. The Supreme Court in April 2023 rejected the state's attempt to enforce the law against Pepper-Jackson while the litigation continues, meaning she has been able to continue to participate in school sports, namely cross-country and track. Hecox, who plays soccer and also runs, similarly obtained an injunction from a district court judge against Idaho officials. She also won on appeal at the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Pepper-Jackson and Hecox both failed to qualify for running teams at their respective schools, according to court papers. Pepper-Jackson did place third in the state for middle school discus and sixth in middle school shot put, losing out to cisgender girls. She finished 67th out of 68 in a cross-country event in eighth grade. In barring transgender girls from participating in girls sports at the middle school, high school and college levels, the West Virginia law enacted in 2021 says gender is 'based solely on the individual's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.' As such, it says, a female is a person 'whose biological sex determined at birth as female.' The Idaho law, passed in 2020, states that sports 'designated for females, women, or girls should not be open to students of the male sex.' Both cases concern whether such laws violate the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which requires that the law apply equally to everyone. Pepper-Jackson's case also raises a claim under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. The Biden administration previously unveiled proposals on how Title IX applies to transgender athletes, saying that blanket bans would be unlawful but concluding that it may be lawful to limit involvement in competitive sports. But the the Trump administration has reversed course, with the White House issuing an executive order titled: 'Keeping Men out of Women's Sports.' In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that federal law barring sex discrimination in employment protected LGBTQ people, a ruling that angered conservatives. The court is yet to rule on whether the same reasoning applies to Title IX.
