Advocacy groups in Washington state are preparing a legal challenge against Initiative 638, a newly approved ballot measure that bans transgender girls from participating in girls’ school sports.
Voters approved the measure in last week’s midterm election, and enforcement is scheduled to begin on December 3. If implemented, the rule will require all girls competing in school sports to verify their biological sex.
Opponents warn that the official text, which mentions confirming reproductive anatomy, could force tens of thousands of students to undergo invasive checks. Lexi Koren, a spokesperson for the anti-I-638 campaign No Hate in Washington State, pointed to the difficult choices families now face regarding privacy and athletic participation.
“There are parents that are going to be asking, ‘Is my kid going to have to have a choice of dropping their pants in front of a complete stranger or missing the track season?’ We don’t know the answer right now,” said Lexi Koren, a spokesperson for No Hate in Washington State.
Let’s Go Washington, a conservative political organization that has supported 20 ballot measures since coming into existence in 2022, sponsored the initiative. While Washingtonians voted down the group’s other measures this year, Initiative 638 secured a double-digit lead.
Danni Askini, executive director of the Washington-based Gender Justice League, described the limits of shifting political tides for marginalized communities. “I don’t think, unfortunately, that the blue wave is really applicable to trans people,” Askini said.
A coalition including the ACLU of Washington, Planned Parenthood, and No Hate in Washington State is preparing to file a lawsuit before the December 3 enforcement date. Organizers view state courts as the most viable venue, pointing to strong local privacy and anti-discrimination statutes.
State legal precedent offers a foundation for these arguments. The Washington state supreme court decided against random drug testing of student athletes by a school district back in 2008, holding that the state constitution establishes privacy safeguards that exceed federal protections.
Jaelynn Scott, elected last week as Washington’s first openly trans state legislator, noted that a lack of campaign funding and public outreach left many voters unaware of how the measure codified discrimination into law. Scott stated that lawmakers intend to pursue a legislative repeal within two years if the upcoming legal challenge fails.
“If for some reason the legal challenge doesn’t work, then in the state legislature we damn sure are going to repeal that law in two years,” Scott said.
