Washington, D.C. – The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) today filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B. P. J., cases before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging state laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender girls and women student athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams. NWLC is represented by Democracy Forward in this matter.

In the brief, NWLC argues that the state laws blatantly violate Title IX protections, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs, and perpetuate stereotypes and discrimination against girls and women as athletically inferior—the same stereotypes and discrimination that Title IX was enacted to combat. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the cases on January 13, 2026. 

The amicus states: “For decades, Title IX has transformed the landscape of education and sports by rejecting the notion that opportunity must be rationed in favor of a view that it should be available for all. The exclusionary model Petitioners advance betrays that progress, reflecting the very attitudes that have historically privileged men’s sports and perpetuated inequality based on harmful stereotypes about girls and women. Title IX’s enduring success depends on rejecting that model and upholding athletics as an educational opportunity open to every student—a place where inclusion and equality are not competing values, but the foundation of the game itself.”

“Decades after Title IX became federal law, the same tired stereotypes used to keep girls and women out of sports are being recycled to attack transgender athletes,” said Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center. “Sports bans like the ones being challenged from Idaho and West Virginia fundamentally undermine Title IX, which was created, in part, to open doors for marginalized students who had historically been left out of school sports. Early supporters of Title IX rejected the notion that women and girls are athletically inferior to men and boys, yet that is what’s being reinforced by these sports bans. By picking and choosing who ‘counts’ as a woman or girl–and to exclude from sports anyone who doesn’t–we risk legitimizing discrimination through the very vehicle we once used to protect our most vulnerable from it.”

“Title IX unequivocally prohibits sex discrimination in education  — and that includes for all people, including transgender student athletes,” said Kaitlyn Golden, Senior Counsel at Democracy Forward. “As the brief submitted today explains, these bans perpetuate harmful and damaging stereotypes, not just about transgender individuals, but also about women and girls and should be struck down by the court.” 

Title IX has been successful in opening the door to women and girls participating in sports for decades. In 1972, only about 294,000 high school girls played sports, compared to over 3.5 million in the 2024-25 school year. College sports have seen similar gains, with the number of women student athletes rising from 29,977 in 1972 to over 215,000 in 2021. However, inequities still remain – women’s sports are chronically underfunded and high school girls still have 1.3 million fewer opportunities to play sports than high school boys. 

Research shows transgender students in particular benefit from sports and engaging in supportive environments, given the pervasive discrimination and harassment they disproportionately experience. NWLC argues that the weakening of Title IX protections in this case would not only harm transgender athletes, but also would jeopardize the progress that has been made for all women and girls.

The legal team at Democracy Forward includes Kaitlyn Golden, Madeline Gitomer, Kayla M. Kaufman, and Carrie Flaxman. The legal team at NWLC includes Shiwali Patel, Hunter Iannucci, Liz Theran, Auden Perino, and Gaylynn Burroughs. 

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Democracy Forward is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org. 

The National Women’s Law Center fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy, and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls. For over 50 years, NWLC has been on the leading edge of every major legal and policy victory for women. For more information, please visit www.nwlc.org.