Arizona’s Senate Bill (S.B.) 1165 bans transgender girls from competing on school sports teams at every grade and competition level no matter the sport and without regard for each girl’s individual circumstances.
In April 2023, NCLR and the law firms Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Osborn Maledon P.A. filed a case challenging this ban, representing two transgender girls who are barred from playing the sports they love. The complaint alleged that S.B. 1165 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Title IX, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act by banning these girls from playing school sports.
The plaintiffs were granted a preliminary injunction which prevented the law from being enforceable as to them, which defendants then appealed to the 9th Circuit, and the circuit court affirmed the district court decision.
This case was stayed pending the SCOTUS decision for another transgender sports case, the consolidated cases of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox. In June 2026, SCOTUS upheld the Idaho and West Virginia laws that categorically ban transgender women and girls from women’s and girls’ scholastic sports teams. After that decision, the case was dismissed.
