Last year, Gov. Youngkin’s team overhauled 2021 model policies by former Gov. Northam on transgender and nonbinary students' privacy and rights, setting a precent for inclusion of transgender students in sports.

A federal judge ordered Hanover County Public Schools late Friday to temporarily cease blocking a transgender middle school student from trying out for and, if selected, playing on a sports team this school year.

In February, the student, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, filed a lawsuit claiming the school division violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

ACLU stated that the ruling found that the school board “likely violated” both when it banned the Hanover student from the tennis team.

Protecting Trans Students in Sports

“This order is a reminder to school boards that protecting transgender young people is part of protecting girls’ sports,” said legal director Eden Heilman, in a statement. “And it’s a flashing red light to any Virginia school board that might be tempted to think that VDOE’s anti-trans model policies give it license to abuse its power. As the court reminded Hanover County School Board in its ruling, no state policies can shield Virginia schools from accountability for violating federal law.”

Last year, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration overhauled the 2021 model policies for transgender and nonbinary students designed under former Gov. Ralph Northam to protect the privacy and rights of such students.

Read the full article about transgender students in sports by Nathaniel Cline at The 74.