A trio of student athletes sue local school districts and state over the allowance of transgender athletes in girls' sports. (Staff photo)

Three Oregon high school athletes and their families are suing three school districts and the state over policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.

Those suing include two Newberg High School track athletes and Forest Grove High School senior Madelyn Eischen. As minors, the other two students were not named in the lawsuit, referred to only by initials.

The Oregon Department of Education, Gov. Tina Kotek, the Oregon School Activities Association and the Forest Grove, Newberg and Portland school districts are named in the lawsuit filed July 7 in the U.S. District Court in Portland.

The lawsuit argues that the state’s and therefore district’s policies permitting transgender female athletes to compete in girls’ high school track and field events have led to “biological males displacing biological females on the victory podium… excluding some girls from competition altogether, and depriving other girls… from honors, opportunities to compete at higher levels.”

The girls and their families are seeking an injunction to halt the enforcement of Oregon’s current transgender participation policies in girls’ athletics, asking the court to declare them in violation of federal law — citing President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sport” executive order — and requesting an unnamed amount in damages for emotional and competitive harm.

Guidance vs. Title IX

ODE and OSAA’s guidance states that schools must allow transgender students to compete in sports consistent with their gender identity on the basis of Oregon’s antidiscrimination laws.

But the suit argues this policy conflicts with Title IX’s intention, which recognizes “fundamental sex differences” in sports to ensure equal opportunity for girls, according to the court document.

The Newberg School District declined to comment on the pending litigation, but stated, “The district has followed all applicable state laws and guidance regarding student athletics and participation,” said Newberg-Dundee Public Schools Communications Assistant Erica Wilhelm. “We remain committed to staying in compliance and to ensuring that all students are supported in a safe and respectful learning environment.”

The Forest Grove School District and Portland Public Schools declined to comment on the lawsuit.

‘Forced’ to compete

The complaint states the girls were “forced” to compete against transgender athletes who “outperform women in athletics due to their physiological advantages.” One example is a transgender athlete from McDaniel High School who won the slowest of nine heats in a regular season girls’ 200-meter race and placed first and second in the 200- and 400-meter races, respectively, at state championships in 2024.

“Title IX mandates such distinctions to ensure equal opportunity. Yet the Transgender Policies undermine these protections by allowing biological males to compete in female-only competitions,” the complaint states, describing emotional distress, intimidation and public scrutiny faced by the girls as a result of competing against biological males in female-designated events.

More than a local issue

This lawsuit joins a growing wave of legal challenges nationwide over the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports, an issue that has sparked debate across state legislatures, school boards and athletic governing bodies.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in March launched an investigation into PPS and OSAA over the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls’ athletics around the state, in direct response to the McDaniel High track competition cited in the suit. Results of the investigation have not yet been released.

This issue is not one strictly tied to Washington and Multnomah counties. In May, Columbia County Commissioner Casey Garrett filed a complaint to the St. Helens School District over the district’s policies allowing transgender student athletes to use locker room facilities that match their gender identity. The school board declined to change its policy.