Transgender students sue New Hampshire education officials over sports ban

Two transgender students and their families on Friday sued education officials in New Hampshire over a sports ban that takes effect Monday, which prohibits them from playing on teams that align with their gender identities. 

The Biden administration expanded federal Title IX rules in April to include protections for LGBTQ students, but it does not include transgender athletes. The New Hampshire ban requires students in grades 5-12 to play on sports teams that match the gender that they were born with, rather than the one they identify as.

The lawsuit is brought by 15-year-old Parker Tirrell, 14-year-old Iris Turmelle, and their families, who are represented by the nonprofit GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, and the law firm Goodwin Procter, according to NBC News.

Tirrell, who was born male but identifies as female, has been barred from the girl's soccer team at Plymouth Regional High School. Turmelle, who was also born male but identifies as female, plans to try out for Pembroke Academy's girls’ tennis and track and field teams, but has not been explicitly banned so far.

“Not being allowed to play on my team with the other girls would disconnect me from so many of my friends and make school so much harder,” Tirrell said in a statement. “I just want to be myself and to learn, play, and support my teammates like I did last year.”

The law was approved by conservative New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu last month, who said the rule reflects "commonsense, bipartisan solutions that reflect the values of parents across our state.” 

Supporters of the new law claim that transgender students are at an unfair advantage in some sports, especially if they were born male. But critics claim the law are discriminatory and stop students from taking part in an important school activity.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.