For immediate release
November 10, 2026
Media Contact
ACLU of Washington, media@aclu-wa.org
Legal Voice, media@legalvoice.org
Pacifica Law Group, communications@pacificalawgroup.com
Nonprofits and families sue state over transgender sports ban initiative
On November 9, a coalition of Washington state parents and educators filed suit to prevent the implementation of Initiative 638, a discriminatory law that bans transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports and imposes new requirements for girls who play school sports.
The plaintiffs in the case include: TransFamilies, a nonprofit organization based in Washington state that works to support families with transgender and gender-diverse children; the Washington Education Association (WEA), a statewide union that represents more than 90,000 educators; and the parents of students who play girls’ sports in public schools.
“It has been my great privilege over the last two decades to see communities throughout Washington embrace trans and gender-diverse student-athletes in their schools,” said TransFamilies founder Aidan Key, who led efforts in 2007 when Washington first adopted a policy to explicitly include transgender and gender-diverse children in school sports. “When people are provided accurate information, have their questions or concerns addressed, and understand why participation —for trans children and everyone else — matters, they gain clarity and confidence that inclusion, not division, makes us all stronger.”
I-638, which was approved in the election last week, prohibits transgender girls from playing girls’ sports in Washington’s public schools. It enforces this ban by requiring all girls — cisgender and transgender — prove their sex before they play on a girls’ team. Boys are not subject to any similar requirement.
The initiative identifies three ways that a girl can “verify” her “biological sex”: through the student’s reproductive anatomy, their genetic makeup, or their normal endogenously produced testosterone levels.
For nearly two decades, Washington law has allowed transgender students to participate in sports and on teams consistent with their gender identity — a successful approach that has been a model for other states. I-638 was introduced last year amid ongoing attacks on transgender rights, both locally and nationally.
Plaintiffs are suing on the grounds that the law violates the Washington state constitution in multiple ways. By requiring a sex verification, the law significantly intrudes on students’ privacy rights guaranteed by Article 1, Section 7. I-638 also violates the Equal Rights Amendment of the state constitution. The law does this by imposing the sex-verification requirement on all girls and not imposing the same on boys.
The imposition of sex verification requirements for girls to participate in sports that is not imposed on boys is also a violation of Article IX of the state’s constitution, which guarantees the right of education to all children in Washington schools, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste or sex. I-638 also violates state constitutional procedural requirements for enacting new laws that amend existing laws. It violates this by amending the Washington Law Against Discrimination and other anti-discrimination laws that explicitly protect transgender people.
TransFamilies and the parents of students are represented by the ACLU of Washington and Legal Voice, and the Washington Education Association is represented by Pacifica Law Group. Together, they filed the lawsuit Monday and will seek emergency relief to prevent the law from taking effect on December 3.
“Washington educators are committed to fair and welcoming schools where all students can thrive,” said Janie White, WEA president. “This new requirement is in direct conflict with the state’s paramount duty to educate our children without discrimination.”
“Sports give young people a place to make friends and be part of a team, but Initiative 638 seeks to deny transgender girls those opportunities,” said Adrien Leavitt, staff attorney for the ACLU of Washington. “Washington has long had strong protections against discrimination. We will fight to stop this law from taking effect and prevent this needless attack on youth in our state.”
“Think about what this law actually does: it creates an invasive surveillance process that could traumatize young girls across Washington — all in the name of discriminating against trans people,” said Julia Marks, Legal Voice Managing Director. “Legal Voice has been fighting for equal access to athletics for all girls since our first case 50 years ago, and we’re not about to go backward in Washington.”
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