The Supreme Court announced on Thursday that it would hear two cases testing the constitutionality of state laws that bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams.
The justices’ decision to hear the disputes signals that the court is willing to delve back into the fraught battle over transgender rights. In June, the court, split along ideological lines, upheld a Tennessee law that banned some medical treatments for transgender youth.
The cases accepted on Thursday stem from legal challenges to state laws limiting transgender athlete participation in Idaho and West Virginia.
The justices agreed to hear the cases during the court’s next term, which begins in early October. They have not yet set a date for oral argument.
A number of individuals sued the states after each adopted laws limiting participation by transgender athletes.
The challengers argue the laws violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. Lower courts blocked the laws from going into effect for those who had brought court challenges, and state officials asked the justices to weigh in.
The West Virginia case, West Virginia v. B.P.J., arose from a 2021 state law that barred transgender athletes from competing on girls’ teams in public schools. In April 2023, the justices heard an emergency petition in the case and ruled that the transgender girl who challenged the state law could continue to compete on the girls’ cross-country and track teams at her middle school in West Virginia while her appeal moved forward.
The Idaho case, Little v. Hecox, involves a transgender college student at Boise State University who challenged HB 500, an Idaho law barring participation by transgender athletes.
Abbie VanSickle covers the United States Supreme Court for The Times. She is a lawyer and has an extensive background in investigative reporting.
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