The lawsuit against a transgender student whose gender identity was violated by the Vermont principals’ association on athletic opportunities and gender identity

The Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) policy on gender identity, the state’s governing body for school sports, says students are able to participate in athletic activities “in a manner consistent with their gender identity,” which is outlined in the Vermont Agency of Education Best Practices for Schools Regarding Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students.

The American Civil Liberties Union and its West Virginia chapter filed the lawsuit in 2021 on behalf of an 11-year-old transgender girl who hoped to compete in middle school cross-country in Harrison County. The lawsuit named the state and county boards of education and their superintendents as defendants.

World athletics president Sebastian Coe said in a statement that they must ensure fairness for female athletes above all other considerations.

The legislature’s definition of girl is based on biological sex, which is important for the government’s interest in providing equal athletic opportunities for females.

In his Thursday decision, he said the plaintiff, “like all transgender people, deserves respect and the ability to live free from judgment and hatred for simply being who she is.” But he did not find sufficient evidence that lawmakers passed the legislation with harmful intent.

There weren’t many reports of girls participating in sports when the measure was passed. It was evident that the statute is a solution to a potential, but not yet realized a problem.

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There would have been no reason for the court to weigh in if the legislature had not done so. “Nevertheless,” the judge concluded, “I must do so now.”

The Williams Institute used state-level surveys to estimate that West Virginia had the highest percentage of residents ages 13 to 17 who said they were trans. That equated to about 1,150 teens.

Mid Vermont Christian School (MVCS) was set to play Long Trail School on February 21, but MVCS forfeited the game due to a transgender player on Long Trail’s roster, according to the head of school at MVCS, Vicky Fogg.

“We withdrew from the tournament because we believe playing against an opponent with a biological male jeopardizes the fairness of the game and the safety of our players,” Fogg said in a statement.

The factors that may be used to determine the sex listed on a birth certificate include genetics and hormones, and there is wide variation in each of them.

A survey found that more than half of the trans and non-binary youth contemplated suicide, and the Williams Institute reports that 30% of the trans youth attempted to take their own lives.

According to Coe the decision came after a number of factors, including consultation with groups such as the World athletics member federations, the Global Athletics Coaches Academy, and the IOC as well as representative human rights groups.

The debate is about whether female athletes have an unfair advantage over trans women when it comes to physical strength. But there is limited scientific research involving elite transgender athletes — which the council also acknowledged.

In Thursday’s statement, World Athletics said: “It became apparent that there was little support within the sport for the option that was first presented to stakeholders, which required transgender athletes to maintain their testosterone levels below 2.5nmol/L for 24 months to be eligible to compete internationally in the female category.”

Over the past decade, the World athletics council has done its own research and found that there can be an impact on performance. Several international groups including the Human Rights Watch have called the council’s evidence flawed.

Even without strong evidence of an advantage, the council has scrutinized the performance of athletes such as South African runner Caster Semenya, the world’s fastest woman in the 800 meters. Casters have XY chromosomes and have a naturally high testosterone level.