Justice Prins is a middle school student in the Western School District in Parma.
In 2016 her parents requested that she be able to run on the girls’ cross country track team. The school district refused, stating that because she is transgender she would have an unfair competitive advantage on the track team.
In April 2017 the ACLU of Michigan sent a letter to the district explaining that according to medical and scientific experts Justice would not have an unfair advantage, and warning that excluding Justice from the girls’ track team violates her rights under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
The district responded in July 2017 by amending its policy to require consideration of medical information when making decisions regarding transgender student participation in gender segregated sports. Under the new policy, Justice was able to run with the girls’ team in the Fall 2017 season.
(ACLU Attorney Jay Kaplan.)