West Virginia v. B. P. J.

West Virginia v. B. P. J.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 13, 2026
Full case nameWest Virginia, et al., Petitioners v. B. P. J., By Her Next Friend and Mother, Heather Jackson
Docket no.24-43
Questions presented
1. Whether Title IX prevents a state from consistently designating girls' and boys' sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth.
2. Whether the Equal Protection Clause prevents a state from offering separate boys' and girls' sports teams based on biological sex determined at birth.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Amy Coney Barrett · Ketanji Brown Jackson

West Virginia v. B. P. J., 98 F.4th 542 (2024) is a pending United States Supreme Court case concerning the participation of transgender athletes in sex-separated school sports. In April 2024, the Fourth Circuit held that a West Virginia law barring transgender girls and women from participating on girls' and women's sports teams was unconstitutional.[1] The case was argued on January 13, 2026, alongside Little v. Hecox, which challenges an Idaho law restricting girls' and women's teams to students assigned female at birth.[2] The arguments took place amid widespread adoption of similar state laws and related national policy disputes.[3]

Background and procedural history

In 2021, West Virginia passed the "Save Women's Sports Act," which provides that only “biological females” can participate in women's sports in all public interscholastic, intercollegiate, intramural, or club sports teams at the secondary or post-secondary level,"[4] barring transgender girls and women from participating on women's and girls' sports teams. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 12-year-old transgender girl, challenged the law on Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection Clause, and Title IX sex discrimination grounds.[1]

U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin originally blocked the law[5] but, after full briefing, ultimately concluded the state's ban was lawful.[6] A divided panel of the Fourth Circuit put the law on hold pending further review.[7] West Virginia requested the Supreme Court of the United States to lift the hold,[8] and its request was denied on April 6, 2023, with Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissenting from the denial.[9][10]

Court of Appeals decision

On April 17, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit disagreed with the lower court and ruled that the "Save Women's Sports Act" was unconstitutional.[11] The Court held the law preventing transgender girls from playing on girls' teams is not "substantially related to an important government interest."[11] The Court also found "B.P.J. has shown that applying the Act to her would treat her worse than people to whom she is similarly situated, deprive her of any meaningful athletic opportunities, and do so on the basis of sex."[11]

The opinion states "we do not hold that state officials are forbidden from creating separate sports teams for boys and girls or that lack power to police the line drawn". It additionally provides that Title IX does not "require schools to allow every transgender girl to play on girls teams".[12]

On July 11, 2024, West Virginia appealed the Fourth Circuit's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.[13] The high court granted the petition on July 3, 2025.[14]

Oral argument

The Court heard oral argument on January 13, 2026. The Solicitor General D. John Sauer participated as amicus curiae in support of West Virginia. News coverage of the argument reported that the Court's conservative majority appeared skeptical of the challengers' claims and emphasized fairness rationales and Title IX's longstanding accommodation of sex-separated teams, while the Court's liberal justices raised concerns about discrimination and suggested the possibility of narrower, as-applied relief or further factfinding in the lower courts.[15]

Pepper-Jackson has argued that she does not have the competitive advantages the state attributes to male puberty because she began medical treatment earlier and did not undergo male puberty.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Totenberg, Nina (April 6, 2023). "Supreme Court won't enforce West Virginia law banning trans athletes from girls' teams". NPR.
  2. ^ "Little v. Hecox (Transgender Athletes)". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  3. ^ Chung, Andrew; Kruzel, John (January 13, 2026). "US Supreme Court conservatives lean toward allowing transgender sports bans". Reuters. Retrieved January 18, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ "West Virginia Code Section 18-2-25D". West Virginia Code. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "B. P. J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, 550 F. Supp. 3d 347 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Chung, Andrew (April 6, 2023). "U.S. Supreme Court declines to allow West Virginia transgender athlete ban". Reuters.
  7. ^ Barnes, Robert (March 21, 2023). "Supreme Court asked to allow West Virginia's transgender athlete ban". Washington Post. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  8. ^ Hayes, Peter (March 10, 2023). "West Virginia Asks High Court to Weigh in on Trans Athlete Case". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  9. ^ Liptak, Adam (April 6, 2023). "Supreme Court Rules for Transgender Girl in School Sports Dispute". The New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  10. ^ "West Virginia v. B.P.J., 143 S. Ct. 889 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education, No. 23-1078 (4th Cir. 2024)". Justia Law. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "BPJ-CA4-Decision.pdf" (PDF).
  13. ^ "West Virginia v. B.P.J." SCOTUSblog. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Dallas, Kelsey (July 3, 2025). "Supreme Court takes up cases on transgender athletes". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  15. ^ Howe, Amy (January 13, 2026). "Supreme Court appears likely to uphold transgender athlete bans". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  16. ^ "A West Virginia teenage trans athlete's case goes to the Supreme Court". The Washington Post. January 13, 2026. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
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