Overview
- Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30 decision that states may set sports eligibility by “biological sex,” the two named plaintiffs in New Hampshire filed a court stipulation this week to dismiss their federal challenge after they decided not to return to school sports.
- A separate teen plaintiff in Arizona likewise stepped back from her federal lawsuit this week, with her lawyer saying the long litigation was too gruelling for a student who no longer wants to continue.
- Judge Landya B. McCafferty had earlier issued a narrow preliminary injunction exempting the New Hampshire plaintiffs and lifted a stay on June 30, but the plaintiffs’ withdrawals rendered further federal proceedings in that case unnecessary for now.
- Civil‑rights lawyers say legal avenues remain, pointing to differences in facts and untested theories such as Americans with Disabilities Act claims and the possibility of new plaintiffs or administrative challenges.
- The Supreme Court ruling strengthens similar bans in roughly two dozen states and has prompted states and groups to press ballot measures and further policy fights while advocates warn of lasting stigma and harm to transgender youth.