Decision clears the path for Arizona voters to ensure in the strongest protections for girls’ sports this November — the Protect Girls’ Sports in Arizona Act

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that states may reserve girls’ and women’s sports for female athletes — a decisive victory for families who have fought to keep competition fair.

In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the Court held — under both Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause — that schools may determine eligibility for girls’ and women’s teams based on sex. The ruling came in West Virginia v. B.P.J., decided alongside its companion case, Little v. Hecox.

Justice Kavanaugh left no doubt about the breadth of the holding: “Consistent with Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, we hold that the States may maintain women’s and girls’ sports for biological females. They may determine eligibility for women’s and girls’ sports based on biological sex. The Constitution and Title IX do not require an overhaul of women’s and girls’ sports throughout America.”

Now Arizona voters can finish the job. This November, the Protect Girls’ Sports in Arizona Act gives the people of Arizona the chance to settle the question themselves, writing fairness directly into Arizona’s Constitution in a few months rather than leaving it to long years of litigation. Referred to the ballot by the Legislature and sponsored by Rep. Selina Bliss, the measure would designate school teams as male, female, or coeducational based on sex, keep girls’ teams for girls, and protect privacy in locker rooms and showers — across public and qualifying private schools alike. It is the surest and most lasting protection available: not a rule waiting on the next appeal, but a decision made by Arizonans, for Arizona’s daughters.

“Today the highest court in the land stood with every Arizona girl who trains in the dark before school and dreams of a fair finish line,” said Peter Gentala, President and CEO of Center for Arizona Policy. “The justices affirmed what families have always known: our daughters deserve a level field and an honest shot to compete — and to win. Now it is Arizona’s turn to finish the job. This November, voters can write fairness into law themselves.”

Lawmakers passed the Save Women’s Sports Act in 2022 to keep competition fair by reserving girls’ and women’s teams for female athletes — but the law has sat blocked since 2023 in Doe v. Horne, paused by the courts while the justices weighed West Virginia’s and Idaho’s laws. When Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to defend it, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speakers Ben Toma and Steve Montenegro refused to let Arizona’s daughters stand undefended — stepping in to carry the law’s defense all the way to the Supreme Court. With today’s decision, that legal cloud lifts.

Center for Arizona Policy will stand with families through Election Day — equipping parents, coaches, and athletes to pass the Protect Girls’ Sports in Arizona Act and keep women’s sports fair for the next generation.