In Hanover County, Virginia, a lawsuit against the Hanover County School Board has been dropped after an 11-year-old transgender girl, Janie Doe, left her school due to ongoing harassment.
The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Virginia, claimed that Janie was unfairly barred from joining her school’s girls’ tennis team because she is transgender. Despite qualifying for the team, the school board unanimously voted to prevent her from playing.
According to court documents, Janie’s birth certificate has identified her as female since she was 7 or 8 years old. She has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, is undergoing treatment, and is on puberty blockers to prevent male puberty.
In August, a federal judge ruled in Janie’s favor, allowing her to play on the team while the case continued. The judge stated that stopping her from playing would cause “irreparable harm” to Janie and would not harm the school board.
However, on November 14, Janie’s parents asked to end the lawsuit after pulling her out of Hanover County Public Schools for safety reasons. They said the ongoing harassment made it unsafe for her to stay. A judge approved their request the next day, officially closing the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled in the future if needed.