Four Inland school districts have voted to join a legal filing supporting a West Virginia law that bars transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Chino Valley Unified, Temecula Valley Unified, Murrieta Valley Unified and Perris Union High school districts have agreed to sign onto an amicus curiae brief prepared by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a Murrieta-based nonprofit law firm. The filing backs West Virginia’s 2021 statute and argues that broadening “sex” under Title IX to include gender identity “ignores biological realities, endangering female students’ physical safety, psychological well-being, and equal opportunities,” according to a Sept. 22 release from the law firm.
The case, West Virginia v. B.P.J., will be heard alongside Little v. Hecox out of Idaho during the high court’s upcoming term. Both cases challenge state laws restricting transgender participation in female athletics and could determine whether schools may continue to maintain separate athletic teams for biological girls.
Several other districts that have previously adopted resolutions supporting Title IX protections for girls’ sports — including Desert Sands and Capistrano Unified — have also been invited to consider joining the brief.
The filings come amid growing debate in Southern California over gender, privacy, and fairness in athletics. Earlier this month, Temecula Valley Unified students staged walkouts at James L. Day Middle School to protest a lack of privacy in locker rooms. Trustee Jennifer Wiersma said those demonstrations underscore the need for local school boards to take a position.
“After witnessing the student protest at James L. Day Middle School regarding a lack of privacy in the locker rooms, this board has a moral obligation to weigh in on protecting our biological girls and boys in their sports and spaces,” Wiersma said.
