The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued an important ruling in the area of equality with respect to educational opportunities. The case, B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Bd. of Educ., et al., (No. 23-1078, 4th Cir. Apr. 16, 2024), involved a 13-year-old girl (BPJ) who wanted to participate on her middle school cross country and track teams.
A West Virginia statute barred BPJ from participating on the girls’ teams because she is transgender. The law dictated that an individual whose “biological sex determined at birth [was] male” could not join a school sports team designated for females. The law targeted transgender girls by drawing a bright line with the only consideration being that of biological sex assigned at birth. It did not matter that BPJ had lived as girl for more than 5 years and had taken puberty blockers which stopped her body from experiencing male adolescent development. She had not gone through the development stages that cause changes in muscle mass and which can provide a competitive advantage with strength and speed.
Pursuant to guidelines endorsed by the American College of Pediatricians, BPJ began receiving gender-affirming care in the form of puberty blockers before her body began producing testosterone. Because BPJ took puberty blockers, she did not have testosterone circulating in her body in an amount that would lead to greater strength and speed. The Fourth Circuit observed that those were the “two attributes relevant to most competitive sports.”
Title IX guarantees that no person shall be excluded from any education program or activity on the basis of sex. BPJ’s suit challenged the West Virginia statute, as applied to her, arguing that the law violated her rights under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Her suit made clear that she “simply wants to play on the girls’ team like other girls.” The Fourth Circuit held that BPJ has that right under Title IX.
On this one, an important ruling for transgender youth, the Fourth Circuit got it right. While there may well be tougher decisions when dealing with college or professional sports and those with elevated testosterone levels, the bottom line here is: “Let kids be kids, let ‘em play sports with their friends.”
