The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two cases that are likely to decide whether state laws banning transgender women and girls from participating in school sports violate the Constitution.As Them and other outlets reported, the Court announced last Thursday that it would take up Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. during its next term. Both cases involve transgender students who challenged their states bans on trans athletes participating in womens and girls sports. Related Supreme Court just threw out four pro-trans rulings The justices ordered appellate courts to review cases involving gender-affirming care coverage and birth certificates. Becky Pepper-Jackson, the plaintiff in West Virginia v. B.P.J., sued the state in 2021 when she was just 11 years old. Pepper-Jackson had hoped to join her middle schools girls cross-country team, but was told she couldnt due to H.B. 3293, a.k.a. the Save Womens Sports Act, a law signed by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) in April 2021 that banned transgender girls from participating on teams that align with their gender identity. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In April 2024, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that H.B. 3293 violates Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in schools. The general idea is that its impossible to exclude LGBTQ+ people from educational opportunities without taking their sex into account.Similarly, Boise State University runner Lindsay Hecox, the plaintiff in Little v. Hecox, challenged Idahos so-called Fairness in Womens Sports Act, which was signed into law by Republican Governor Brad Little in 2020. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law likely violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.Both Idaho and West Virginia appealed their cases to the Supreme Court. Pepper-Jackson and Hecox were both granted injunctions allowing them to continue to compete on their schools womens and girls teams while their cases are heard. Trans kids play sports for the same reasons their peers do to learn perseverance, dedication, teamwork, and to simply have fun with their friends, Joshua Block, a lawyer with the ACLU, which is representing both Pepper Jackson and Hecox, said in a statement shared with multiple outlets. Categorically excluding kids from school sports just because they are transgender will only make our schools less safe and more hurtful places for all youth. We believe the lower courts were right to block these discriminatory laws, and we will continue to defend the freedom of all kids to play.The Supreme Court had previously declined to hear a similar case out of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in early 2023. But the decision to take up Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. follows not only the presidents February 2025 executive order aimed at blocking federal funding for schools that allow trans girls and women to compete on girls and womens teams, but also the Courts recent ruling in U.S. v. Skrmetti. The 6-3 decision found that a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria does not violate the Equal Protection Clause and that it does not discriminate on the basis of sex or transgender status. As NBC News notes, both Hecox and B.P.J. concern whether Idaho and West Virginias trans sports bans violate the Fourteenth Amendment. A ruling in the cases is expected in June 2026.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.