New Hampshire Transgender HS Students File Lawsuit Over Exclusion From Girls’ Sports Teams
The families of two transgender high school students in New Hampshire have taken legal action against the state over what they say are violations of constitutional and federal law following the passage of a state bill that touts anti-transgender policies.
The students are identified as 15-year-old Parker Tirrell and 14-year-old Iris Turmelle, both of whom identify as transgender girls and say they have identified this way since they were both young children. The students have also been diagnosed with gender dysphoria –a mental health diagnosis that causes stress in individuals experiencing conflicting feelings about their gender identity and their sex at birth.
The two students say that they were denied from joining their high school’s girls' sports teams because they are both biologically male, not female. In the new lawsuit, the families name New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut and other education officials as defendants, arguing that a new state law promotes anti-transgender policies across the state.
The lawsuit comes a month after Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law House Bill 1205, also known as “the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” This act, which was met with widespread support, creates clear limitations and guidelines on how women’s sports are organized, mainly placing limitations on transgender athletes who want to join female sports teams.
The law details that athletes can only join sports teams that align with the gender that is reported on their birth certificate. When Gov. Sununu signed the bill into law, he shared that the new bill would “ensure fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining integrity and competitive balance in athletic competitions.” However, the two families say the law is a blatant act of discrimination.
The families are represented by the advocacy group GLAD, the ACLU of New Hampshire, and the law firm Goodwin Procter. The families’ legal representation says that the new law not only discriminates against the girls because of their gender identity but also denies Tirrell and Turmelle equal educational opportunities which are afforded to them under the constitutional right to equal protection.
The advocacy group GLAD released a statement that explained in part, “The law denies them the many educational, social, and physical and mental health benefits that come with playing sports, isolating them from friends and teammates while singling them out for discrimination solely because they are transgender girls.”
Tirrell played on the girls’ soccer team when she was in ninth grade, but as she enters her 10th-grade year, she will be barred from joining the team under the new law. She shared in a statement, "Playing soccer with my teammates is where I feel the most free and happy. We’re there for each other, win or lose." Tirrell adds, "Not being allowed to play on my team with the other girls would disconnect me from so many of my friends and make school so much harder."
Turmelle also shared in her own statement, "I’m a transgender girl, I’ve known that my whole life and everyone knows I’m a girl. I don’t understand why I shouldn’t get to have the same opportunities as other girls at school."
The parents of the children also highlight the damaging effects such a policy could have on the kids. Tirrell’s mother shared in her own statement, “Any parent wants to know their child is healthy, happy, and feels like they belong. That is no different for my husband and me as parents of a transgender daughter. I am really worried about the harmful impact it will have on Parker’s self-esteem and well-being if she is told she has to start the new school year without joining her teammates on the field.”
Laws like the new House Bill 1205 have popped up across the country over the past couple of years. According to data from the Movement Advancement Project, New Hampshire is one of 25 states that have such laws on the books. Despite many of these laws coming out of Republican-led states, not all conservative legislatures have been successful in their efforts to ban transgender participation in school sports.
Most recently, a federal appeals court ruled in April that West Virginia could not enforce its anti-transgender sports ban against a 13-year-old transgender girl who pushed back against the state’s 2021 law.
