The ACLU has joined a lawsuit defending the interests of trans student athletes in Connecticut.

Becky is a middle school student in West Virginia. She has been a cheerleader and wants the opportunity to try out for the cross-country team. A new law in West Virginia would ban her from doing so because she is transgender. Becky and her parents sued and are represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of West Virginia, Lambda Legal and Cooley LLP.

Thousands of school districts across the country operate with nondiscrimination policies inclusive of their transgender students, including the legal right for these students to access facilities (bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.) consistent with their gender identity. These policies help protect transgender students from harassment, being isolated from their peers, and thrive in a learning environment that believes in their fundamental rights.

Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville, TN and their 15-year-old transgender daughter are challenging a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming care for transgender people under 18. Tennessee is home to over 3,000 transgender adolescents and the health care banned by this law is supported by the entire mainstream of the medical community.

Luc Esquivel is a 15-year-old sophomore at Farragut High School in Knoxville, TN who has been looking forward to trying out for the boys’ golf team. That aspiration was derailed when the Tennessee legislature passed and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed into law SB 228, which bans transgender middle and high school students from participating on interscholastic sports teams that match their gender. Luc and his family have sued the state of Tennessee.