GLAD Law and ACLU of NH ask court to expand existing NH case to challenge President Trump’s executive orders banning transgender girls from participating in school sports
CONCORD, N.H. - Today, the organizations representing the families of New Hampshire students challenging a state law that categorically bans transgender girls from participating in school sports asked the court to expand their case to include a legal challenge to President Trump’s executive orders that ban transgender girls and women from sports nationwide.
“The Trump Administration’s executive orders amount to a coordinated campaign to prevent transgender people from functioning in society. The systematic targeting of transgender people across American institutions is chilling, but targeting young people in schools, denying them support and essential opportunities during their most vulnerable years, is especially cruel,” said Chris Erchull, Senior Staff Attorney at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), which is representing the plaintiffs along with the ACLU of New Hampshire (ACLU of NH). “School sports are an important part of education—something no child should be denied simply because of who they are. Our clients Parker and Iris simply want to go to school, learn, and play on teams with their peers.”
GLAD Law and the ACLU of NH filed the motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in the case Tirrell and Turmelle v. Edelblut, a federal lawsuit challenging HB 1205, a 2024 state law banning all transgender girls in grades 5-12 from participating in school sports in New Hampshire public schools. Last September, the court ordered that students Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle be allowed to play sports during the litigation, ruling that HB 1205 discriminates against transgender students in violation of Title IX and the U.S. Constitution.
“We’re expanding our lawsuit to challenge President Trump’s executive orders because, like the state law, it excludes, singles out, and discriminates against transgender students and insinuates that they are not deserving of the same educational opportunities as all other students. Every child in New Hampshire and across the country has a right to equal opportunities at school and all students do better when they have access to resources that improve their mental, emotional, and physical health,” said Henry Klementowicz, Deputy Legal Director at ACLU of NH.
In asking the court to add federal defendants to the lawsuit to formally challenge the Trump administration’s executive orders to ban transgender female athletes, GLAD Law and ACLU of NH contend that the Trump administration’s February 5 executive order, along with parts of a January 20 executive order, subject Parker and Iris and all transgender girls to discrimination in violation of federal equal protection guarantees and their rights under Title IX. The organizations also assert the orders unlawfully subject the girls’ respective schools to the threat of losing federal funding for allowing Parker and Iris to play school sports.
Parker Tirrell is a tenth-grader who plays on her high school soccer team. Iris Turmelle is a ninth-grader who is looking forward to trying out for tennis this spring.
“I love playing soccer and we had a great season last fall. I just want to go to school like other kids and keep playing the game I love,” said Parker Tirrell.
“We were so grateful and proud to watch Parker play soccer with her friends last fall, and to see the joy it brings her. Her father and I just want her to be happy, healthy, and know she belongs—the same things any parent wants for their child. It’s just not right for the federal government to come down so hard on a kid,” said Sara Tirrell, Parker’s mother.
“The chance to try out for tennis means new teammates, new friends, and a sense of fun and belonging. I just want the same opportunities as other girls at my school,” said Iris Turmelle.
“It’s heartbreaking to have the federal government so aggressively go after our daughter,” said Amy Manzelli and Chad Turmelle, Iris’s parents. “Iris is looking forward to playing spring sports and being part of a team. We just want her to be able to attend school and get the most out of her education—on and off the court.”
President Trump’s February 5 executive order banning transgender girls and women from athletics is the latest in a series of executive orders and related policy changes deliberately aimed at broadly restricting the rights of transgender Americans in public life. Since taking office Jan. 20, his administration has worked to roll back access to non-discrimination protections, health care, equal educational opportunities, military service, and vital identity documents for transgender people.
Parker, Iris, and their families are represented by Chris Erchull, Ben Klein, Michael Haley, and Jennifer Levi at GLAD Law, Henry Klementowicz and Gilles Bissonnette at the ACLU of NH, and Louis Lobel, Kevin DeJong, and Elaine Blais at Goodwin.
See today’s filing, which comprises three documents (the motion, a redline of the proposed amended complaint, and a clean proposed amended complaint) below: