WASHINGTON, D.C. – Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC) recently filed an amicus brief in support of female student athletes in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in A.M. v. Indiana Public Schools and State of Indiana.
The case involves a challenge to an Indiana law prohibiting biological males from participating on women’s sports teams.
A lower federal court enjoined the state statute, holding that it likely violates federal prohibitions on sex discrimination, including Title IX.
IWLC’s brief argues that this is a preposterous reading of Title IX, which was passed in 1972 to expand opportunities for women and girls, not limit them. IWLC contends that the lower court incorrectly relied on the Supreme Court’s holding in Bostock v. Clayton County, which ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects gay or transgender employees from discrimination. The brief explains that Bostock is limited to employment cases under Title VII and does not — indeed, cannot — apply to athletics under Title IX without calling into question the very existence of single-sex sport.
Jennifer C. Braceras, director of Independent Women’s Law Center, said,
“If Indiana’s law violates Title IX, then so too do Title IX’s own regulations, which clearly allow for sex-specific athletic teams. For this reason, and those put forward by the state of Indians, the lower court’s decision must not be allowed to stand.”
The brief can be found HERE.
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