B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education

Docket number: 23-1708 (4th Cir.)

On May 3, 2023, HLLI filed a brief of amici curiae on behalf of 25 athletic officials and coaches for female athletes in B.P.J. v. West Virginia State Board of Education in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in support of a West Virginia law that makes all biological males, including those who self-identify as female, ineligible for participation on girls’ sports teams. The district court upheld the law, and the plaintiff appealed.

HLLI’s brief explains why women’s officials and coaches have not been more vocal on this issue until now, their unique perspective on why the West Virginia law is necessary to protect against the rollback of women’s rights and their participation in sports to pre-Title IX levels, the significant benefits that athletic participation provides to girls and women that can only be achieved through single-sex sports, and first-hand experiences and observations relating to these issues.

On April 16, 2024, the Fourth Circuit held that the district court erred in granting the defendants’ motions for summary judgment in this particular case and in failing to grant summary judgment on the specific Title IX claim of student athlete and plaintiff B.P.J.

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