HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- Janie Doe, a transgender middle school student who identifies as a female will be able to try out for a girl’s tennis team at a Hanover middle school, following a federal judge's recent ruling.
The 11-year-old student, who is suing the school board after they voted not to let her play, filed a lawsuit that claims the board's decision violates Title IX. That is the federal law that says public schools are prohibited from discriminating based on sex.
However, the school board maintains that it is following Virginia's model policies and the opinion of the Attorney General, required under state law until a court determines those are invalid.
WATCH: Judge rules in favor of Hanover teen fighting to play on middle school tennis team
Judge rules in favor of Hanover teen fighting to play on middle school tennis team
The judge in the Eastern District of Virginia wrote evidence presented so far in Janie’s case “demonstrated the likelihood of success on the merits of both her Title IX and Equal Protection Cause claims.”
The judge wrote the decision showed the child was excluded from participating based on sex and she was harmed as a result.
“Because Janie Doe faces a litany of harms ranging from medical regression, social isolation and stigma, financial and logistical burdens, and the dignitary harms of either ‘outing’ her as transgender or communicating that transgender students are not welcomed or encouraged to participate in school athletics at all, Janie Doe has made more than a clear showing that the discrimination has harmed her,” the judge wrote.
The judge also wrote the school board's defense was “literally the definition of gender identity discrimination.”
Janie’s case is similar to a case in West Virginia where a judge overturned that state's transgender sports ban and ruled a transgender girl could run on a middle school track team, the judge stated.
The judge wrote “the choice between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is not a real choice” because “it will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy.”
WATCH: Why the Hanover School Board denied Janie Doe participation on school tennis team
Janie Doe wants to play tennis at a Hanover County middle school. The school board won’t let her.
“The judge made very clear that no state policies can shield Virginia school boards for accountability of violating federal law," said Wyatt Rolla, a senior attorney at the ACLU of Virginia. "This opinion communicates to school boards across the state of Virginia, not just Hanover, that to think twice before using VDOE’s ant-trans model policies to discriminate against their own students.”
Before this decision, the judge gave the school board a second chance to review Doe’s request before a ruling was made.
In a vote of 5-1 the school board voted to continue to deny Doe from trying out for the team this year.
The Hanover School District declined to comment on the judge’s decision because of the pending litigation.
However, because of the temporary ruling, Janie will be able to try out for the tennis team next week.
The student's case against the school board is still ongoing.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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