Developments in Transgender Rights:
This week’s Transgender Rights Digest covers a Nazi-era policy resurfacing, the tracking of transgender people by state governments, and a new law in Idaho that could imprison transgender people for life for simply using the restroom. Despite the horrors, we note remarkable defeats of anti-transgender legislation across the nation in states like Georgia and Kentucky. Transgender people continue to be resilient in the face of these draconian laws and policies through protest and resistance.
Want access to a detailed analysis of the transgender rights law in every U.S. state and territory? Please view our free Policy Resource Hub for Transgender Rights, an exclusive legal database where we update the state of the law every single day - so you’re always up to speed.
Must-Read News Stories
Olympic Policy on Transgender Women & Intersex Athletes Repeat of Nazi-era Policy.
Last issue, we covered that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it will ban transgender and intersex athletes from competing in women’s events, based on the results of mandatory genetic testing.
Queer historian and writer Michael Waters recently sat down with Mother Jones to discuss the origins of mandatory genetic testing which he covers in his book, “The Other Olympians: Fascism, Queerness, and the Making of Modern Sports.”
Michael identifies the 1936 Berlin Olympics as the tipping point in the emergence of gender panic in sports. The Nazis put considerable pressure on the IOC strictly police who could compete guided by their eugenic and white supremecist ideology–including efforts to exclude people of color. After two athletes came out as transgender men, the Nazis pushed for the first sex-testing policies for women, successfully implementing them within the Track and Field Federation in the Berlin Olympics.
Sex-testing policies for women's sports continued within the Track and Field Federation throughout the years that followed without seeing much expansion. This began to change in the 1960s. As the cold war raged on, women from the USSR were successfully defeating US women in many sports categories. Despite defeating the Nazi regime just a few decades earlier, the United States willingly embraced the rhetoric used by the Nazis to impose mandatory genetic tests in women’s sports in an effort to make itself look stronger than its enemy. This resulted in the IOC introducing sex-testing requirements in women’s sports in 1968.
Context: Not only are this policy and its associated genetic tests transphobic, they are also rooted in racism and misogyny. While men’s sports are entirely free from genetic testing, all women face unscientific discrimination on the basis of a test that is inaccurate and produces false positives. These issues plagued the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where eight women failed their SYR genetic tests, subjecting them additional review and scrutiny. The doctor and researcher who discovered the SYR gene in 1990 has repeatedly voiced his opposition for the use of the test to determine who meets the undefinable definition of a woman. Imane Kalif, who was targeted by anti-transgender activists after the 2024 Olympics, has also failed a SYR genetic test despite being assigned female at birth.
State Governments Are Tracking Transgender People
As states continue to regulate transgender bodies, they have begun tracking transgender people: Kansas, Texas, Indiana, and Tennessee have all created lists of transgender people within their states to monitor who has requested a change to their gender marker on government documents.
While these lists are technically legal, advocates warn about the dangers of such lists. In a statement to Truthout, Raquel Willis, co-founder and strategic director of the Gender Liberation Movement said, “It’s not just that the right disagrees with the complexity of identity and gender; it’s that they really want to make it impossible for trans and nonbinary folks to live the full lives that we deserve[.]”
On March 26th, the Tennessee House passed one such bill. HB754 requires medical providers to report information regarding every patient seeking gender affirming healthcare to the state government in a manner that some experts warn could allow for the patients to be identified. While Republican lawmakers have been advocating for the bill in the name of health equality and access, Transgender Equality Project Nashville Co-Chair Dahron Johnson said in a statement that “the real purpose of this bill continues to be targeting trans and gender diverse patients, and their providers throughout the state of Tennessee[.]” This bill is expected to pass the Senate as soon as April 9th.
Context: In February, Kansas was able to revoke the drivers licenses of hundreds of transgender people due to their collection of records going back to 2019, resulting in mass disenfranchisement including the right to vote. Texas has also been collecting similar data for the past two years. These efforts are increasingly concerning for transgender individuals as their rights and protections are being systematically dismantled at all levels of government.
New from L4GG: Why Reproductive Justice and Trans Liberation Are One Fight
On April 7, 2026, Lawyers for Good Government Legal Fellow, Zane McNeill, wrote a powerful piece outlining the many connections between the fight for reproductive justice and transgender liberation.
That same day, our colleagues from Guttmacher Institute and National LGBTQ Task Force published an op-ed in The Advocate supporting this argument through a different, but complementary, lens.Legislation & Litigation Developments
Overview:
Transgender rights advocates and allies secured victories across the country as many state legislative sessions came to a close.
The Supreme Court issued a crushing defeat to LGBTQ+ rights in a landmark case overturning Colorado’s conversion therapy ban.
U.S. Federal Judge found that the U.S. Department of Education failed to follow the legally required process when revoking funding for New York City Public Schools.
Idaho passed a bill that could land transgender people in prison for life for simply using the restroom that matches their gender identity.
South Dakota also joined the growing number of states to pass laws restricting bathroom usage of transgender people.
Oregon passed additional protections for providers of gender affirming healthcare.
The U.S. Department of Education rescinds civil rights agreements with six schools now allowed to return to discriminatory practices.
Anti-Transgender Bills Defeated Across the Country
In a massive victory, both Georgia and Kentucky, both failed to pass a single anti-LGBTQ+ bill during their 2026 sessions thanks to relentless advocacy by grassroots organizations and advocates.
In addition, Nebraska also defeated an transgender bathroom ban. At the 11th hour, State Senator Kathleen Kauth (R)unsuccessfully attempted to amend an unrelated bill with a provision that would ban transgender students from bathrooms that match their gender identity.
SCOTUS Rules Colorado’s Conversion Therapy Ban Resulted in Viewpoint Discrimination in Chiles v. Salazar
In an 8-1 decision handed down on April 31, 2026, Supreme Court justices ruled that when applied to one counselor’s talk therapy practice, Colorado's law banning conversion therapy inappropriately regulated speech based on viewpoint, and the lower courts should have applied a more rigorous standard of review.
While existing state laws are not rendered unconstitutional by this decision, they are left vulnerable to similarly-reasoned challenges by practitioners of talk therapy that seek to support their clients’ express desire to change their gender or sexual orientation.
Context: This ruling does not change the rights of conversion therapy survivors to sue for damages based on malpractice or fraud, and states such as California are introducing laws to make this right more explicit.
Judge Finds U.S. Department of Education Failed to Follow Required Procedure When Terminating Grants
On April 8, 2026 the United States District Court Southern District of New York held that the United States Department of Education did not follow the necessary statutory procedures to terminate New York City Public Schools’ (NYCPS) grants because of Title IX violations.
The judge ordered the Department of Education to follow the required Title IX procedures and make a continuation determination with respect of the NYCPS's grants within 10 days of the order.
Additionally, The judge also permanently enjoined the Department of Education from non-continuing the grants to NYCPS based on Title IX findings or”civil rights violations” related to Title IX without following the required Title IX procedures.
Bathroom Ban Signed in South Dakota
On March 30, 2026, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed South Dakota HB1161 into law. HB1161 requires the state to designate any multi-occupancy changing room, restroom, or sleeping quarters in (i) a building or facility owned by the state or by a political subdivision of the state; or (ii) a space leased to or occupied by the state or by a political subdivision of the state as for the exclusive use of “females” or “males,” defined based on their sex assigned at birth. This law will go into effect on July 1st, 2026.
Context: A “political subdivision of the state” typically includes both state and local governmental bodies such as city councils, commissions, towns & townships, and school districts. Its inclusion implies an intent for this law to preempt local laws.
Oregon Expands Shield Law
Oregon passed HB4088 on March 31, 2026, expanding on Oregon's shield laws that protect doctors, nurses, midwives, and others who provide gender-affirming care to out-of-state patients.
This bill prohibits state cooperation with out-of-state investigations; restricts extradition for the receipt, provision, or assistance with gender-affirming care; and creates strict confidentiality protections for patient information, provider image and home telephone number, and court records related to legal changes of sex.
Department of Education Rescinds Resolution Agreements In An Unprecedented Move
The U.S. Department of Education rescinded resolution agreements reached under the Biden and Obama administrations with six schools. These agreements were reached after the Office of Civil Rights found that the schools had violated federal law, including Title IX, by discriminating against transgender students.
By rescinding–essentially cancelling–these agreements the U.S Department of Education has signalled that these schools are permitted to return to their previous policies and practices that discriminated against transgender students.
While some schools have stated that they don’t have an interest in reverting to their old policies, Delaware Valley School District has voted to implement a transgender bathroom ban in compliance with the Trump administration despite being in conflict with state law.
The six agreements were with:
Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware;
Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania;
Fife School District in Washington;
La Mesa-Spring Valley School District in California;
Sacramento City Unified in California; and
Taft College in California
Trend and Policy Watch
Overview
Children’s Minnesota has resumed all gender affirming healthcare after the March court victory in Oregon v. Kennedy, which vacated a Declaration issued by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr that sought to pressure states and hospitals into ending gender affirming healthcare for youth..
The Trump administration continues to ratchet up dehumanizing rhetorics and policy in its FY27 budget.
Children’s Minnesota Resumes Gender Health Programs After Pause
In a reassuring development for its transgender and nonbinary patients and their families, Children’s Minnesota has resumed all care aimed at aligning their pediatric patients with their gender identities after a pause initiated February 27.
This policy shift follows a court victory on March 19, where Minnesota, 20 other states and the District of Columbia were granted a bench ruling vacating Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s December 18, 2025 Declaration that sought to pressure states into ending care for youth with gender dysphoria.
Trump Budget Strips Transgender People of Basic Needs Resources
The Trump Administration released their FY2027 proposed budget which the Human Rights Campaign calls “the latest escalation in a sustained campaign against LGBTQ+ people[.]”
As experts continue to warn about the genocidal rhetoric radiating out of the White House, this budget continues the dehumanization of transgender people by threatening programs that help cloth, house, and educate transgender people.
The budget claims to cut programs such as:
“Clothing Needs of Transgender People”
A NOAA workshop for “transgender women, and those who identify as non-binary.”
HIV prevention and education for transgender, non-binary, and intersex people
Nurse education programs regarding transgender patients
Healthcare studies, education programs, and research involving transgender healthcare and transgender people
Housing programs for transgender people