Supreme Court will take up a new case about which school sports teams transgender students can join

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

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.

California has also been in the spotlight on the issue, as transgender San Jose State volleyball player Blaire Fleming became a target for Trump during his presidential campaign last fall, then Trump pressured California to bar trans track athlete AB Hernandez from the state championship meet in May. The California Interscholastic Federation allowed Hernandez to compete but also awarded medals to non-trans athletes as if she did not. She shared a gold medal in the high jump and triple jump after recording the top mark in both events.

The case will be argued in the fall.

Sports editor Michael Nowels contributed to this story.