By SUZANNE DOWNING
June 30, 2026 – Alaska Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, celebrated a major victory Tuesday after the US Supreme Court upheld state laws protecting girls’ and women’s sports by limiting participation on female athletic teams to biological females.
Allard was one of 57 female state legislators from across the country who signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to hear and ultimately uphold Idaho’s Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, one of two state laws at the center of Tuesday’s landmark ruling.
In a 6-3 decision, the justices upheld laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit biological males who identify as transgender from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. The Court ruled that federal law allows schools to separate athletic teams based on biological sex and rejected claims that the laws violate the constitutional rights of transgender athletes.
The decision is expected to affect more than two dozen states that have enacted similar protections and gives a significant boost to the Trump administration’s efforts to enforce Title IX based on biological sex.
For Alaska, the ruling reinforces policies that have already been adopted administratively.
In August 2023, the Alaska State Board of Education unanimously approved regulation 4 AAC 06.115, which requires that participation on girls’ high school athletic teams be limited to students who were assigned female at birth. The regulation applies to interscholastic athletics governed by the Alaska School Activities Association and was adopted to ensure fairness, safety, and equal athletic opportunity for female athletes.
The Alaska School Activities Association later amended its rules to align with the state regulation, making biological sex at birth the standard for participation on girls’ teams.
Unlike Idaho and many other states, however, Alaska’s protections exist through administrative regulation rather than state law.
Allard has sought to change that by introducing legislation that would permanently place those protections into Alaska statute. Her bills have passed the Alaska House but have repeatedly stalled in the Senate.
The amicus brief signed by Allard and other lawmakers argued that allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports threatens the opportunities guaranteed to female athletes under Title IX and undermines decades of progress for women and girls in athletics.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a tremendous victory for girls and women across America. Title IX was created to ensure equal opportunities for female athletes, and the Court has affirmed that states have the right to protect those opportunities by recognizing biological reality,” Allard said. “I was honored to stand with 56 other female state legislators in asking the Court to uphold Idaho’s law, and I’m encouraged that Alaska’s existing policy is now reinforced by this historic decision. I will continue working to make these protections permanent in Alaska law.”
The Supreme Court agreed that states may lawfully maintain separate athletic competitions for males and females based on biological sex.
The ruling also strengthens President Donald Trump’s executive actions on the issue. Shortly after returning to the White House, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to interpret Title IX protections based on biological sex. The NCAA subsequently revised its eligibility rules, restricting women’s competition to athletes who were assigned female at birth.
Tuesday’s decision is also expected to bolster the administration’s ability to withhold federal education funding from schools and states that adopt transgender-inclusive athletic policies.
For Allard, Tuesday’s ruling represents a significant validation of legislation she has championed for years. While Alaska’s current protections remain regulatory and could theoretically be changed by a future Board of Education, the nation’s highest court has now made clear that states have the constitutional authority to reserve girls’ and women’s athletic competitions for biological females.
