Supreme Court Decides West Virginia v. B.P.J., ex rel. Jackson

On June 30, 2026, the US Supreme Court decided West Virginia v. B.P.J., ex rel. Jackson, No. 24-43, holding that states may limit eligibility for women's and girls' sports based on biological sex. Citing physical differences between biological males and biological females and resulting safety and competitive fairness concerns in sports, the Court concluded that maintaining women's and girls' sports teams for biological females is permissible under both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Laws from two states — West Virginia and Idaho — prohibit male students from playing on female teams. The laws specify that sex is determined by biology. W. Va. Code Ann. §§ 18-2-25d(a)(4), (b)(1); Idaho Code Ann. § 33-6203. Biological males who identify as females from each state challenged the laws under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. High school student B.P.J. also challenged West Virginia's law under Title IX. In that case, the district court granted summary judgment to the State, which the Fourth Circuit reversed on the Title IX claim and remanded for further fact-finding on the Equal Protection Clause claim. In the Idaho case, the district court enjoined enforcement of the law against college student Hecox, which the Ninth Circuit affirmed.

The Supreme Court first concluded that the West Virginia law does not violate Title IX. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on sex, which the Court concluded means "biological sex" as that term was understood when the statute was enacted in the early 1970s. The Court reasoned that Title IX permits schools to maintain separate teams for males and females, and that neither the statute nor its implementing regulations require schools to allow biological males who identify as female, including those who have taken puberty blockers or hormones, to participate in women's and girls' sports. The Court further reasoned that separate sports teams for biological males and biological females are "reasonable" based on safety and competitive fairness concerns.

The Supreme Court also concluded that the West Virginia and Idaho laws do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court analyzed the laws by applying intermediate scrutiny, under which a sex-based classification is "permissible only when the classification is substantially related to achieving an important government objective." The Court concluded that the States' interests in ensuring safety and competitive fairness are important interests, and that the sex-based classification — limiting women's and girls' sports to biological females — is substantially related to those interests. The Court rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the laws must provide individualized exceptions for biological males who identify as female and have taken puberty blockers or hormones, reasoning that States are not required to conduct individual comparisons of physical and athletic capabilities to satisfy intermediate scrutiny. The Court noted that whether such athletes retain physical advantages remains "the subject of ongoing medical and scientific debate," which the legislature is better equipped than the judiciary to evaluate. The Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the Fourth and Ninth Circuits and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.

Justice Kavanaugh delivered the opinion of the Court in which Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Barrett joined. Justices Thomas and Gorsuch filed concurring opinions. Justice Sotomayor filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which Justices Kagan and Jackson joined. Justice Jackson filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part.