On 30 June 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on challenges to restrictions on transgender participation in women’s and girls’ school sports in West Virginia and Idaho.

What the Court Decided

In West Virginia v. B. P. J. and Little v. Hecox, the Court concluded that the states could use sex-based eligibility rules for female teams under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. It reversed the appeals-court judgments and sent the cases back for further proceedings.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for a six-justice majority. The majority accepted the states’ arguments concerning competitive fairness and safety.

A Divided Decision

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, concurred in the judgment in part and dissented in part. Jackson also wrote separately.

The Scope of the Ruling

The decision concerns school-sports eligibility and the challenged state laws. It does not itself impose a nationwide ban covering every transgender athlete or every sporting competition. Readers should distinguish this judgment from executive orders and rules adopted by individual sports organisations.

Primary source: Supreme Court opinion, 30 June 2026 (PDF).