A recently enacted Indiana statute prohibits transgender girls from playing on girls' athletic teams sponsored by public schools or certain private schools. In A.M. v. Indianapolis Public Schools, (SD IN, July 26, 2022), an Indiana federal district court, relying on Title IX, issued a preliminary injunction barring school officials from applying the statute to prevent plaintiff, a transgender girl entering the 5th grade, from playing on the girl's softball team. The court said in part:
[N]otably, § 20-33-13-4 does not prohibit all transgender athletes from playing with the team of the sex with which they identify – it only prohibits transgender females from doing so. The singling out of transgender females is unequivocally discrimination on the basis of sex, regardless of the policy argument as to why that choice was made. The Court finds that A.M. has established a strong likelihood that she will succeed on the merits of her Title IX claim.
The Hill reports on the decision.
