Jimmy Starke
On April 16, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that a West Virginia law that prohibits a transgender girl from competing in girls’ athletics teams violates Title IX. The Fourth Circuit’s decision in Heather Jackson v. West Virginia State Board of Education determined that Title IX prohibited the state from excluding transgender students from participating in the sports team consistent with their gender identity. The Fourth Circuit also held that the law violated the student’s constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause, and it sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration.
Becky Pepper-Jackson, the plaintiff, is a transgender girl; she identifies as a girl, changed the name on her birth certificate, is taking puberty blocking medication, and has participated in girls’ sports for years. When she attempted to participate in high school track and cross country, however, a new West Virginia law prohibited her from doing so. Enacted in 2021, West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” bars individuals who are assigned the sex male at birth from competing on girls’ athletic teams, prohibiting transgender girls from participating in sports. However, the Act only applies to girls’ sports; it does not contain any prohibition on who may join boys’ sports teams.
The Fourth Circuit held that the law violated Title IX, specifically that it discriminates based on sex by forbidding transgender girls from participating in teams consistent with their gender identity. The Court reasoned that “applying the Act to [plaintiff] would treat her worse than people to whom she is similarly situated, deprive her of any meaningful athletic opportunities, and do so on the basis of sex.” On these facts, the Fourth Circuit reasoned, having the plaintiff choose between playing on boys’ sports teams or not playing any sports is “no real choice at all,” and it would “contradict the treatment protocols for gender dysphoria.” Consequently the court found the Act unlawful.
The Court’s ruling in Jackson was a win for transgender youth athletes in West Virginia and in all states overseen by the Fourth Circuit (Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina). It affirms the protections of Title IX to transgender students, and is particularly important as an increasing number of states attempt to pass legislation similar to the one passed in West Virginia.
