ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, sEPTEMBER 22, 2025
CONTACT: Lori Sanada
media@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Murrieta, CA — On Friday, a coalition of California public school districts and charter schools, including John Adams Academies, Chino Valley Unified School District, Temecula Valley Unified School District, Murrieta Valley Unified School District, Perris Union High School District, Placer Union High School, Orange County Board of Education, and Kern County Board of Education filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of West Virginia’s laws safeguarding women’s sports and facilities.
Represented by Advocates for Faith & Freedom, Amici urge the Supreme Court to reverse a Fourth Circuit decision in B.P.J. by Jackson v. W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ., 98 F.4th 542 (4th Cir. 2024), which struck down state protections for female athletes. The districts argue that expanding “sex” under Title IX to include gender identity ignores biological realities, endangering female students’ physical safety, psychological well-being, and equal opportunities.
“For nearly forty years Title IX allowed female athletes to thrive in their own competitions and protected girls in their locker rooms and bathrooms,” said Erin Mersino, Vice President and Chief of Supreme Court and Appellate Litigation at Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “Title IX was a hard-won victory for women’s equality, built on recognizing sex-based differences—not erasing them. Our clients have bravely asked the Supreme Court to uphold the original meaning of Title IX and protect the rights of their female students.”
Drawing on both historical and scientific evidence, the brief exposes the harsh realities female students face when required to share spaces with male students, including psychological trauma—such as embarrassment, withdrawal, and fear—as well as physical risks and undeniable athletic disadvantages. California school districts face a legal bind: either comply with the state’s radical gender-identity mandates and violate federal Title IX protections, or defend the rights and safety of young women and face lawsuits from their own state.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in W. Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. B.P.J. by Jackson (No. 24-43) this term. The case could restore Title IX’s original intent: equal opportunity rooted in reality, not fantasy.
The full brief is available here.
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Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.