BOISE (Idaho EdNews) The nation’s highest court will hear arguments in the five-year-old case against Idaho’s ban on transgender athletes.
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court said that it would consider the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act of Idaho, which prohibits transgender athletes from playing women’s and girls’ sports.
Since it was passed in 2020, the nation’s first ban has been blocked by the courts.
When arguments regarding Idaho’s law or a comparable West Virginia state law will be heard by the Supreme Court is unknown. According to a story published by USA Today on Thursday, the justices are expected to hear arguments in the autumn and render a decision in 2026. However, the Supreme Court’s decision is expected to represent a turning point in the national discussion around transgender sports.
Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, who is the sponsor of the Idaho measure, remarked on Facebook Thursday morning that “this will decide so much.” When I introduced this law in 2020, I predicted that it would be heard by the Supreme Court. At last, it’s heading there.
Since 2020, the discourse around transgender athletes has seen significant shift. Similar to Idaho’s statute, 26 other states have prohibited transgender athletes. After losing three games against San Jos State University, which was said to have a transgender player on its roster, Boise State University’s women’s volleyball team garnered national notice last fall. In February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women’s and girls’ sports.
The tenets of the Little v. Hecox decision, which concerns Idaho law, have not changed. The first is Governor Brad Little, who in March 2020 signed the transgender ban into law in Idaho. The latter is transgender athlete Lindsay Hecox, who had spoken in opposition to Ehardt’s bill during hearings at the Statehouse. Later, Hecox tried out for Boise State’s women’s track and cross-country teams but was not selected.
Little expressed his satisfaction on Thursday that Idaho’s case will be heard by the Supreme Court.
Little made a statement saying, “I am sure Idaho’s common-sense laws to defend women’s sports will prevail.” Working with my legislative colleagues to advance sensible policies that safeguard the American way of life makes me proud.
The court’s ruling was likewise praised by Attorney General Rafael Labrador.
Labrador stated in a news release that women and girls in Idaho should have equal opportunities. The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to consider our case makes me very happy. Activists have been trying to keep girls and women out of their own sports for far too long.
Laborator filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on July 11, 2024, almost a year ago, contesting a federal Circuit Court injunction that had put Idaho’s statute on hold.
Male competitors with clear physiological advantages have pushed away countless female student-athletes, including Ivy League swimmers, high school sprinters in Connecticut, and Olympic swimmers at the NCAA championships, according to this brief read.
A request for comment from Kathleen Roberta Hartnett, a San Francisco-based lawyer who represents Hecox and other parties, was also not immediately answered. Hartnett urged the Supreme Court not to consider the Idaho statute in a brief submitted in October, citing contested empirical factual claims regarding whether transgender athletes have a biological edge over their rivals as part of the rationale for a ban.
On July 3, 2025, this was first published on IdahoEdNews.org.
