SCOTUS ruling clears way for Arizona transgender athlete law, Supt. Tom Horne says

Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling that allows states to restrict transgender athletes in schools removes a longstanding legal issue that kept an Arizona law from being enforced, the state’s top education official said.

Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show the ruling will allow Arizona’s law on the issue to move forward after years of legal challenges.

“We’ve had a law for a number of years in Arizona that biological boys cannot play in girls’ sports. We were sued by two large New York law firms who declared the law unconstitutional,” Horne said.

That law, called the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” passed in 2022. Shortly thereafter, a federal judge in Arizona allowed two transgender girls to play at their schools despite the law.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, after which Horne sought a review from the Supreme Court.

“I think it’s a violation of Title IX, of common sense and of common decency to have biological boys play against biological girls with the unfair advantages that they have,” Horne said.

He also said Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ refusal to represent him in court forced him to pull money from the state education budget to pay legal fees.

Where does Arizona’s law about transgender athletes stand now?

The Supreme Court ruled that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia on transgender girls and women competing on girls’ and women’s school athletic teams do not violate the Constitution.

The court also unanimously agreed the bans do not violate Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

This means that previous rulings in Arizona’s transgender athlete case are now moot, Horne said.

“That’s now null and void and we’ll be moving to vacate those decisions,” he explained. “Probably we will go to court. If the courts don’t act immediately on their own, we’ll go to court to have those decisions vacated.”

He doesn’t expect there to be further legal issues in this matter.

“There shouldn’t be any contest because the courts are obligated to follow the U.S. Supreme Court,” Horne said.

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