Only a week after Initiative 638 was passed by a majority of Washington voters, already legal challenges have been raised by education and civil rights organizations regarding its implementation.
Last night, the ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice, and the Pacifica Law Group filed a lawsuit that calls into question the legality of Initiative 638, which mandates a complete ban on transfeminine students in girls’ sports at school. This comes also as the Seattle Public Schools board voted unanimously on November 3 for a resolution allow the SPS’s legal counsel and Superintendent Ben Shuldiner to challenge I-638 in court.
I-638 will require all cis women and girl student athletes to verify their “biological sex” with documentation from a healthcare provider “[based on]... reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels” in order to participate.
The statewide measure is to take effect on December 3, 2026.
Lawsuit
Representing several anonymous parent and child plaintiffs in conjunction with the Washington Education Association and TransFamilies, the coalition lawsuit argues that the measure is in violation of the state’s constitution and several laws, including the Washington Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD).
The lawsuit argues that “by expressly requiring verification based on these criteria, the Initiative authorizes and invites inspection of the child’s genitals, a genetic test, or a blood test for testosterone. No comparable requirement applies to boys.” It further argues that “by subjecting all girls who want to play girls’ sports to a new and harmful sex-verification requirement that does not apply to students participating in boys’ sports, the Initiative infringes the privacy rights of girls, treats them unequally, and disrupts their educational opportunities.”
Janie White, president of the WEA, said in a statement that “Washington educators are committed to fair and welcoming schools where all students can thrive. This new requirement is in direct conflict with the state’s paramount duty to educate our children without discrimination.”
ACLU staff attorney Adrien Leavitt also issued a statement regarding the lawsuit: “Sports give young people a place to make friends and be part of a team, but Initiative 638 seeks to deny transgender girls those opportunities. Washington has long had strong protections against discrimination. We will fight to stop this law from taking effect and prevent this needless attack on youth in our state.”
LGW responds
Let’s Go Washington (LGW), the MAGA-aligned PAC founded and funded by billionaire Brian Heywood, introduced I-638 and two other initiatives on Washington’s 2026 general election ballot. The organization issued a response to the legal challenges I-638 is facing on multiple fronts.
“The ACLU, the Seattle School Board, [No] Hate in Washington State and anyone else can raise lawsuits about protecting girls’ sports all day, but their true colors are showing,” said Darren Littell, LGW’s executive director. “They want boys in girls’ sports at all costs, and they are willing to undermine democracy to get them there.”
Aidan Key, founder of TransFamilies and a pioneer of Washington’s current inclusive policies around Trans and gender-diverse children in school sports from back in 2007, said in response to I-638’s passage and the challenge it is now facing, “When people are provided accurate information, have their questions or concerns addressed, and understand why participation — for Trans children and everyone else — matters, they gain clarity and confidence that inclusion, not division, makes us all stronger.”
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