The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed a lower court’s decision to allow two transgender girls to play sports in an all-girls team despite Arizona legislation barring their participation.

The plaintiffs, Kate and Megan Doe, two transgender minors, challenged Arizona’s Senate Bill 1165 (Save Women’s Sports Act), which bans transgender girls and women from taking part in women’s sports and teams that match their gender identity. The bill applies to all educational levels, ranging from elementary school to university.

In April 2023, Kate and Megan Doe sued the defendants, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, and their schools, seeking injunctive relief. The complainants relied on Sec. 1681(a) of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination where a school receives federal financial assistance, and the Fourteenth Amendment, Equal Protection and Rights of Citizens, where “every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination.”

In July of 2023, the US District Court for the District of Arizona ruled that the act should not prevent the plaintiffs from playing sports, finding that there was no significant athletic advantage before puberty and in girls who received puberty blockers. The court also granted a preliminary injunction, allowing the applicants to continue playing on their sports teams. The three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the lower court’s decision was correct and that the Save Women’s Sports Act discriminates against transgender people, violating the Equal Protection Clause. However, the court did not conclude whether Title IX was violated or not. The case is still set to go to trial.

In 2022, Arizona’s Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill 1165, which defined gender in interscholastic sports. The bill stated that “‘female’, ‘women’ or ‘girls’ may not be open to students of the male sex” and that the legislature finds biological sex to be “either male or female” and “biological differences between males and females are determined genetically during embryonic development.” Previously, before 2021, transgender students participated in sports on a case-by-case basis.

86 percent of transgender and non-binary youth find that anti-trans bills negatively impact their mental health. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ bills in 2024, 13 of which aim to ban transgender students from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity.