Civil Rights Groups Call on VHSL to Reverse Trans Sports Ban

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Civil Rights Groups Call on VHSL to Reverse Trans Sports Ban

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — (May 6, 2025) On Tuesday, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), ACLU of Virginia, and Equality Virginia called on the executive committee of the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to reverse its discriminatory and unnecessary ban on transgender athletes in school events. The league had abandoned its long-running policy that supported both trans and cisgender student athletes in February following President Trump’s executive order targeting sports organizations that include trans girls and women.

Trump’s executive order is not federal law; it does not reverse existing federal and state protections and binding court decisions that protect trans students from exclusion and discrimination. Instead, the executive order attempts to intimidate schools into violating civil rights laws, and it compromises the safety and opportunities for all women and girls in sports. By categorically banning trans girls and women from participating in school sports, VHSL’s revised policy unnecessarily exposes its members to costly litigation over violations of the state and federal laws that protect trans students, and has already sparked outcry from Virginia families, as demonstrated by a separate community letter by Equality Virginia and over 20 organizations in Virginia.

“Policies that target and exclude trans girls, like the VHSL’s anti-trans sports ban, encourage discrimination and send a harmful message to girls and women across the Commonwealth that they will be punished if they do not conform to outdated gender stereotypes,” said Auden Perino, senior counsel of LGBTQI+ equality at NWLC. “It remains illegal to discriminate against students on the basis of sex, and that includes transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people. Schools should not back down from their legal and professional obligations to support and protect all of their students’ rights to learn, play, and be.”

“Before it gave into politicians demanding the exclusion of a vulnerable group of students just because of who they are, VHSL had a policy that made sports fair and safe for all athletes – including transgender athletes,” said Wyatt Rolla, senior transgender rights attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. “Trans girls want to participate in school sports for the same reason as everyone else: to find a sense of belonging, to be part of a team, to grow and challenge themselves. It’s discriminatory, harmful, and illegal to withhold these benefits from some students on the basis of their gender identity.”

Please reach out to Jessica Baskerville at [email protected] (NWLC) or Alexandra Werner-Winslow at [email protected] (ACLU of VA) with any press inquiries.