Protections For CA's LGBTQ+ Students Under Fire In RivCo-Based Lawsuit

MURRIETA, CA — Following moves made last week by President Donald Trump's administration, a California law that requires schools to allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports and use female facilities is being challenged.

The families of two Riverside Unified School District female teen student-athletes who filed a lawsuit last year against the district have amended their complaint to challenge California's AB 1266. The legislation was signed into law in 2013 by then-Gov. Jerry Brown. It requires that California students be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of their assigned gender at birth.

The families allege the state law now conflicts with federal Title IX. The Biden administration sought to expand Title IX with rules to protect LGBTQ+ students. Trump rolled back the rules after a federal judge in Kentucky overturned the protections last month. The judge said the Biden protections were presidential overreach and violated constitutional free speech rights by telling schools to honor students’ preferred pronouns.

Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and other federally funded education programs.

The Jan. 9 federal ruling from the Kentucky judge allows schools to identify students by their assigned gender at birth, and it has given the two Riverside families momentum to challenge AB 1266.

"AB 1266 undermines female athletes, forcing them to compete against biological males who hold undeniable physical advantages. This is not equality," according to a news release Monday from the Murrieta-based law firm Advocates for Faith & Freedom, which is representing the two families.

The families' lawsuit names California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Riverside Unified School District officials Principal Leann Iacuone and Assistant Principal Amanda Chann.

"Plaintiffs seek a federal ruling that AB 1266 violates Title IX as well as a decision holding the [Riverside Unified School] District accountable for violating the [students] First Amendment rights," the news release states. "They demand injunctive relief to stop schools from forcing biological girls to compete with and against males, a judgment affirming sex-based protections in athletics, and compensation for damages caused by these discriminatory policies."

The two families filed their initial complaint on November 20 in Riverside County. The plaintiffs allege a female, identified in court papers as "T.S.," an 11th grader, was ousted from her top position on the varsity cross-country team at Martin Luther King High School to make room for a transgender athlete, identified as M.L., who was assigned male at birth.

The complaint describes a conflict that erupted after coaches selected runners to participate in a high-profile cross-country meet. According to the complaint, M.L. did not train as much nor show up to all required events, yet still posted faster times and was given a top spot on the girl's varsity team.

The complaint alleges T.S. "missed opportunities to compete at a high-profile meet, losing valuable chances for college recruitment and recognition."

The other plaintiff in the lawsuit, a female ninth-grader identified as K.S., was on MLK's junior girl's varsity team and, as a top runner, was in contention for a varsity spot, according to the complaint.

T.S. and K.S. were both assigned female gender at birth.

"Title IX was created to protect female athletes from exactly this kind of injustice," said Advocates Attorney Robert Tyler. "The idea that biological males should take spots from young women is an outright betrayal of the law’s intent. We applaud President Trump for taking decisive action to restore fairness and demand that California abandon this destructive agenda before it erases a generation of female athletes."

In response to the Trump administration's efforts to roll back LQBTQ+ protections, Thurmond issued a public statement on Friday affirming that California schools will continue extending protections against discrimination to all students on the basis of gender, gender expression, gender identity and sexual orientation.

"In California, 'all' still means all," Thurmond said. "While the Trump Education Department announced that they will no longer protect all students from discrimination, California law is unaffected by recent changes to federal policy and continues to provide safeguards against discrimination and harassment based on gender, gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation. While federal guidance devolves, our commitment to safeguarding the rights of all students persists."