Northwestern law professor available on upcoming SCOTUS hearings on trans athletes
‘Efforts to cast transgender people’s lived experience as beyond the contemplation of the drafters of Title IX are incorrect and contradicted by the historical record,’ expert says
CHICAGO --- The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two major cases on Tuesday that may determine the future of trans people in high school and college-organized sports.
The justices will hold oral arguments in cases challenging state bans on transgender student participation in sports. The challengers in the Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. cases argue that the conservative-supported Fairness in Women’s Sports Act and Save Women’s Sports Act, respectively, are in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title IX — a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding.
The opposing sides in the cases argue “sex” refers to the sex a person was assigned at birth and not a person’s gender expression.
Northwestern Pritzker Law Professor Kara Ingelhart is available to media.
Quote from Professor Ingelhart:
“Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., like Bostock before them, are about whether transgender people should be protected from discrimination based on their gender identity under theories of sex-based protections in the law. This time the social context is in school programs. Like the Court found in the context of Title VII and employment in Bostock, the textual application of protections based on sex under Title IX should apply with equal force for transgender people. This would allow for trans young people to enjoy the opportunities of community and team building and learning to work hard and persevere with their peers.
“Further, efforts to cast transgender people’s lived experience as beyond the contemplation of the drafters of Title IX are incorrect and contradicted by the historical record, which shows widespread public awareness of transgender people transitioning to live in accordance with their gender identity in the mid-20th century before the 1972 passage of Title IX.”
Kara Ingelhart, clinical assistant professor of law and director of the LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic, has expertise in civil rights, constitutional law, HIV and the law, sexual orientation and gender identity law.
Ingelhart and the LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic filed an amicus brief in the B.P.J. case. You can read the full brief here.
If you’d like to get in touch with Professor Ingelhart, please reach out to me at shanice.harris@northwestern.edu.