Updated August 19, 2024: After indicating her ruling from the bench on the August 14, 2024 hearing, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction Friday, August 16 preventing Hanover County Public Schools from continuing to block a transgender middle schooler from trying out for, and, if selected, playing on a sports team alongside her peers during the 2024-2025 school year.
The ruling found Hanover County School Board likely violated both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution when it banned 11-year-old “Janie Doe” from the team, which it tried to justify by pointing to the 2023 Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) anti-trans model policies.
“Janie has established that the Board excluded her, on the basis of sex, from participating in an education program when it denied her application to try out for (and if selected, to participate on) her school’s girls’ tennis team,” wrote the U.S. District Court Judge M. Hannah Lauck.
Hanover County School Board’s actions “contravene the strong public interest in educational institutions being free of discrimination of all kinds,” she continued, “including on the basis of gender identity.”
On July 3, 2024 ACLU of Virginia and WilmerHale filed a Title IX lawsuit in the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of “Janie Doe,” a transgender student whom Hanover County Public School blocked from playing on a sports team for which she tried out and qualified.
“Janie Doe” is a middle school student at a Hanover County public school who is not allowed to participate in a girls’ sports team. Even though she successfully qualified during tryouts, and her parents provided documentation requested by the school board to establish her eligibility, the school board voted unanimously to exclude her from the team.
The school board’s 2023 vote came amid a coordinated effort across the country to block transgender young people from participating in sports. With no evidence to support that transgender athletes categorically have an unfair advantage over cisgender athletes, bills seeking blanket bans on transgender girls and women participating in school sports appear instead to be motivated by simple anti-trans animus. Trans athletes within the Virginia High School League, for example, have been able to compete for more than a decade on teams consistent with their gender identity without any disruption whatsoever.
Title IX explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities that receive federal funding, like playing on sports teams. Blanket bans on transgender athletes violate Title IX, and schools that enact such policies risk exposing ALL students to potential harm, discrimination, and serious privacy violations.
The Hanover County School Board will have an opportunity to respond to “Janie Doe’s” request to be allowed to play on her girls’ sports team during the coming fall season before the court hears arguments on her request for preliminary legal relief, which is scheduled for a hearing on August 6, 2024.
Related News Coverage:
Transgender student blocked from tennis team sues Va. school district | Washington Post
ACLU sues Hanover Public Schools on behalf of 11-year-old trans tennis player | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Janie Doe wants to play tennis at a Hanover County middle school. The school board won’t let her. | WTVR
Hearing date set for trans student banned from Hanover tennis team | VPM
Federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Va. student blocked from girls sports team | Washington Blade
ACLU of Virginia sues Hanover school board on behalf of trans student | VPM
ACLU files lawsuit after transgender student was blocked from playing on team | WHSV
Trans tennis player files lawsuit over school sports policy | NewsNation
Lawsuit challenges Hanover County School Board policy on transgender student athletes | WRIC
