The Supreme Court announced Thursday it will hear a pair of cases over the constitutionality of state laws banning biological males from competing in women’s sports.
The high court will hear arguments in Little v. Hecox and B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education in the upcoming term, with the justices wading into whether limiting girls’ and women’s sports to biological women violates the Equal Protection Clause. The decision to take up the cases comes weeks after the high court ruled 6-3 in another pivotal case regarding transgender issues, allowing Tennessee to ban minors from receiving transgender procedures.
In Little v. Hecox, an Idaho law, titled the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, is being challenged by two transgender women who seek to participate in women’s sports in the state. The law requires school sports leagues in the state to be separated based on “biological sex.” The question presented to the high court is whether the law and similar laws restricting women’s sports to biological women violate the 14th Amendment.
In B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, a parent sued on behalf of her child over a West Virginia law titled the Save Women’s Sports Act. The law defines men’s and women’s sports on the basis of biological sex, limiting males to men’s and coed teams, while women may play on all teams.
This West Virginia State Board of Education case presented the justices with a pair of questions. The first question asked whether Title IX “prevents a state from consistently designating girls’ and boys’ sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth,” while the second question asked if the Equal Protection Clause “prevents a state from offering separate boys’ and girls’ sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth.”
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador praised the Supreme Court for taking up his case and expressed hope that it will allow his state’s law to be upheld.
“Idaho’s women and girls deserve an equal playing field,” Labrador said. “I am thrilled the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear our case. For too long, activists have worked to sideline women and girls in their own sports.”
“Men and women are biologically different, and we hope the court will allow states to end this injustice and ensure men no longer create a dangerous, unfair environment for women to showcase their incredible talent and pursue the equal opportunities they deserve,” he added.
West Virginia Attorney General John B. McCuskey said he is “confident” the Supreme Court will side with the Mountain State’s law on women’s sports, arguing it upholds both the Constitution and Title IX.
“It’s a great day, as female athletes in West Virginia will have their voices heard,” McCuskey said Thursday. “The people of West Virginia know that it’s unfair to let male athletes compete against women; that’s why we passed this commonsense law preserving women’s sports for women.”
“We are confident the Supreme Court will uphold the Save Women’s Sports Act because it complies with the U.S. Constitution and complies with Title IX. And most importantly: It protects women and girls by ensuring the playing field is safe and fair,” McCuskey added.
The Supreme Court’s ruling will have sweeping implications for dozens of states with similar laws limiting women’s sports to biological women, as the Trump administration has made the issue a key focus since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
The Department of Education announced earlier this week it had secured a deal with the University of Pennsylvania to strip swimmer Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who competed in women’s events during the 2021-2022 school year, of records and titles she won while competing in women’s events. The school also said it would send letters of apology to the female swimmers who had lost records or titles to Thomas.
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Thomas’s victories in women’s collegiate events during that school year were referenced in the applications filed by Idaho and West Virginia asking the high court to take up their cases.
The Supreme Court’s upcoming term will begin with oral arguments in October. Final decisions are expected to be released by June 2026. The high court has not yet scheduled oral arguments in either case.