Court fight begins over Washington's trans girls sports ban
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A newly filed lawsuit seeks to overturn Initiative 638, the ballot measure Washington voters approved last week to ban transgender girls from competing in girls' school sports.
Why it matters: The legal challenge aims to block I-638 from taking effect, arguing that its sex-verification requirements invade students' privacy.
- The complaint also argues those requirements violate equal rights protections because the rules will not apply to boys.
Catch up quick: Under I-638, all students who want to participate in K-12 girls' sports will need to submit a statement from their health care provider verifying what the initiative calls their "biological sex."
- The verification will need to be based on at least one of the following: "the student's reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels."
The latest: The complaint was filed Monday evening in King County Superior Court, according to Legal Voice, a nonprofit that helped bring the lawsuit.
- The plaintiffs include parents of cisgender and transgender children, the Washington Education Association (the statewide teachers union) and a nonprofit called TransFamilies.
What they're saying: I-638 creates an "invasive surveillance process that could traumatize young girls across Washington — all in the name of discriminating against trans people," Julia Marks, managing director of Legal Voice, said in a news release.
- The complaint also argues the measure violates the state constitution's requirement that education be provided without distinction or preference based on sex, and that it improperly changes existing anti-discrimination laws.
The other side: Let's Go Washington, which backed I-638, dismissed the lawsuit's claims in a news release Tuesday.
- The group has argued the measure is about ensuring fairness in girls' sports.
- "Girls' leagues should never have become the all-purpose leagues that these organizations want them to be, and the vast majority of Washington State voters agree that girls should have their sports and spaces protected," Darren Littell, Let's Go Washington's executive director, said in a news release.
Between the lines: Let's Go Washington says no additional medical exams will be required under I-638, noting that student athletes already undergo a physical before participating in sports.
- But the statewide group that governs middle school and high school athletics — the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) — says its existing rules don't require visual checks of girls' genitals, DNA testing or hormone testing as part of the required sports physical.
What's next: I-638 is set to take effect Dec. 3 unless a court order blocks its implementation.