Coalition of House & Senate Democrats Urge SCOTUS to Protect Trans Rights

Washington, DC — Today, Congressional Equality Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Becca Balint, Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, and Senator Mazie Hirono led 130 Members of Congress in filing an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in the cases of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox where the court will be considering whether categorical bans on transgender students participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.

The brief, which argues that categorical bans on transgender students participating in school sports violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, was joined by 9 Senators and 121 Representatives—more than twice as many signers than a brief led by Congressional Republicans in the case.

"Every student deserves to feel safe and supported, on their sports team and in the classroom, regardless of their identity,” said Rep. Becca Balint (VT-AL), Co-Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “Violating Title IX or the Equal Protection Clause puts students at risk. Policies that categorically ban transgender students deny them opportunities and expose girls and women to increased harassment and bullying. Congress should stay out of policing our kids' bodies. I’m in the fight for equal rights to protect everyone’s ability to fully participate in their communities.”

“Title IX was created to make sure all students have access to opportunities at school, in sports, and across their communities. Blanket bans will take away opportunities and put young women and girls in danger. Girls as young as five years old will have their reproductive organs and medical history questioned just for wanting to play on teams at school with their friends,” said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus. “These bans also do nothing to address the real challenges that women athletes experience. The Democratic Women's Caucus is committed to fighting for policies that actually protect women and girls in and out of sports, including accessible and affordable health care, equal pay, and protection from discrimination.”

“All students deserve equal access to opportunity in schools—whether in the classroom, on the playing field, or in other settings. No student should be discriminated against based on who they are,” said Senator Mazie Hirono (Hawaii). “A categorical ban on transgender students participating in sports not only harms these students, but also subjects women and girls to harassment and discrimination, and leads to the policing of children’s bodies. This contradicts the very purpose of Title IX: ending discrimination in federally-funded education programs. These bans are blatant discrimination, and the Court should say so.”

“Every student should be free to play with their friends at school without fear of harassment by their classmates, opponents, teachers, or government. Categorical bans on trans students’ participation in sports aren’t good policy—they endanger young girls of all gender identities by allowing strangers to police their bodies with secretive investigations or invasive exams,” said Rep. Mark Takano (CA-39), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus. “This case could have far reaching implications for the trans community’s rights beyond just athletics. I’m beyond thankful for the work Equality Caucus Co-Chair Becca Balint, Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández, and Senator Mazie Hirono have done to build and lead this incredible team of Representatives and Senators on this important amicus brief.”

“Every young person deserves the same opportunities to get an education free from discrimination, play sports, and learn the life lessons that come with those opportunities: problem solving, teamwork, and finding a place to belong," said David Stacy, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Human Rights Campaign. "Politicians should not be targeting, sidelining, and discriminating against kids who are already vulnerable simply because of who they are. The Supreme Court should stand with these students and defend the freedom for every kid to learn, compete, grow, and thrive alongside their peers.”

In their brief, the Members argue that categorical bans on transgender students participating in school sports violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. The brief highlights: 1) how categorical bans harm all girls and women—including cisgender girls and women—through harassment and policing of children’s “reproductive biology;” 2) how categorical bans both undermine the ability of transgender students to participate in their school community and are not substantially related to an important government interest; and 3) the recent failures to amend Title IX to enact a categorical ban. The brief includes examples where a school athletic association secretly investigated a cisgender female student without telling her parents, where a school board member falsely suggested that a high school basketball athlete was transgender—subjecting her to relentless harassment and bullying, and another example where investigators repeatedly asked individuals to describe a student in various stages of undress.

The full brief is available to read here.


BACKGROUND ON THE CASES
On January 13, 2026, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, where the court will be considering whether categorical bans on transgender students participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity violate Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.

The case could have wider implications than just if categorical bans violate federal law or the Constitution. If the court rules that Title IX does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, transgender students would lose access to a key avenue of recourse when they face discrimination in their schools—not only in the athletics context. In addition, the Court could rule on which level of scrutiny courts should apply when considering equal protection challenges to laws that discriminate against people because of their transgender status. This could have implications for a wide range of challenges to all levels of anti-trans governmental policies—either making it easier or harder to win these challenges.


BACKGROUND ON THE FIGHT AGAINST A FEDERAL BAN
In January, Republicans in the House passed H.R. 28, the so-called “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act” to amend existing law to make it a violation of Title IX for recipients of Federal financial assistance to allow transgender girls or women to participate in girls’ and women’s athletic programs. This bill would effectively ban all trans girls and trans women from participating on school sports teams, depriving them of an important opportunity to be part of their school community, learn sportsmanship, and challenge themselves. It would also limit the ability of non-binary and intersex students to participate in these programs. The bill could further force any girl to answer invasive personal questions about their bodies and face humiliating physical inspections to “prove” that they’re a girl.

The Congressional Equality Caucus and Democratic Women’s Caucus, including Equality Caucus Co-Chair Becca Balint and Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández, helped lead the fight against the bill in the House, keeping more than 99% of the House Democratic Caucus opposed. In the Senate, Senator Mazie Hirono and her colleagues successfully stopped the bill from advancing. In previous Congresses, Senator Hirono personally blocked the bill from advancing, speaking to the harms the bill would cause to both transgender and cisgender girls.