Lawsuit Challenges California Law that ‘Allows Boys to Play on Girls’ Sports Teams
Two female high school athletes from California, K.S. and T.S., along with their families, and the Save Girls’ Sports association, have filed an amended federal lawsuit against the State of California, Riverside Unified School District, and school officials.
The lawsuit challenges AB 1266, the California law that “requires schools to allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports and use female bathrooms,” according to the plaintiffs.
“This law conflicts with federal Title IX protections, which were established to ensure fairness, safety, and equal opportunities for female students and athletes.
AB 1266 undermines female athletes, forcing them to compete against biological males who hold undeniable physical advantages. This is not equality,” according to Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts
“As a result of AB 1266 and the school district’s discriminatory practices, school officials removed T.S. from the girls’ varsity cross-country team and replaced her with a biological male who had previously broken female cross-country records at another high school. In an effort to speak out against this unfair treatment, T.S. and K.S. wore shirts displaying the message ‘Save Girls’ Sports’ and ‘It’s Common Sense. XX ≠ XY.’ However, school officials then ordered them to remove or cover the messages, labeling the shirts as ‘hostile’ and comparing the shirts to swastikas.”
The lawsuit names California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Attorney General Rob Bonta “for enforcing AB 1266, along with Riverside Unified School District officials Principal Leann Iacuone and Assistant Principal Amanda Chann, who discriminated against K.S., T.S., and members of the Save Girls’ Sports Association.
Since filing the lawsuit, more than 200 students have worn the ‘Save Girls’ Sports’ shirts on campus in solidarity with K.S. and T.S., sending a clear message to school administrators and State officials that discrimination against female athletes will not be tolerated.”
Advocates attorney Julianne Fleischer stated, “The government is steamrolling over women’s rights with radical policies that dismantle fairness in sports and muzzle those who dare to defend it. This is not progress; it is regression. Female athletes train, sacrifice, and compete to win—not to be sidelined by an ideology that ignores biological reality.”
Attorney Robert Tyler added, “Title IX was created to protect female athletes from exactly this kind of injustice. 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.”
“The plaintiffs seek a federal ruling that AB 1266 violates Title IX as well as a decision holding the District accountable for violating their First Amendment rights. 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.”