Freedom Updates
Advocates in Action
FEDERAL COURT REOPENS LANDMARK LAWSUIT: VICTORY FOR FEMALE ATHLETES AND FREE SPEECH AS MONETARY DAMAGES CLAIMS PROCEED AGAINST RIVERSIDE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, MARCH 17 2026
CONTACT: Nicole Velasco at
media@faith-freedom.COM
For Immediate Release, Murrieta, CA – Advocates for Faith & Freedom today announced a major victory in the ongoing fight to protect girls’ sports and free speech rights. The United States District Court for the Central District of California has granted in part Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration, reopening the case and allowing key claims for monetary damages to move forward against the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD).
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of two brave female high school athletes, T.S. and K.S., along with their families and the Save Girls’ Sports organization. It challenges RUSD’s implementation of California’s AB 1266, which forces schools to allow biological males to compete on girls’ teams and use female facilities. The complaint also addresses retaliation against the girls for exercising their First Amendment rights—specifically, wearing T-shirts expressing their belief that girls’ sports should be reserved for biological females.
In February 2026, the Court had dismissed the entire action as moot. However, after Plaintiffs filed their Motion for Reconsideration, U.S. District Judge Sunshine S. Sykes ruled on March 16, 2026 that key Title IX claims seeking monetary damages against the school district were improperly dismissed. The Court also ruled that the student-athletes’ claims alleging violations of their constitutional rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments may proceed against the school defendants.
While the Court maintained that certain requests for prospective relief were moot, it confirmed that the girls’ claims for damages remain alive and that the case will now move forward in federal court. The Court ordered RUSD to file an Answer by Friday, March 27, 2026.
“This ruling is an important step toward accountability,” said Julianne Fleischer, Senior Legal Counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom, which represents the student-athletes. “These young women were told their opportunities did not matter, that fairness in girls’ sports could be sacrificed to political ideology. This decision ensures their voices will be heard in court.”
The case centers on policies that allowed biological males to compete in girls’ athletic competitions, displacing female athletes and undermining the purpose of Title IX – one of the nation’s most important civil rights protections for women and girls.
Title IX was enacted to ensure equal athletic opportunities for female athletes. Advocates for Faith & Freedom argues that allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports erodes those protections and violates the constitutional rights of the young women forced to compete against them.
“Girls deserve a level playing field,” continued Ms. Fleischer. “No amount of political pressure can erase biological reality. When schools sacrifice fairness to ideology, the law must step in.”
Advocates for Faith & Freedom remains committed to defending the rights of female athletes across the country and ensuring that the protections promised under Title IX are not reinterpreted or undermined by unlawful policies.”
“This fight is far from over,” the Ms. Fleischer added. “But today’s ruling confirms that these girls, and the truth they are standing for, will not be silenced.”
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JUDGE’S ERRONEOUS DISMISSAL OF GIRLS’ SPORTS CASE DRAWS MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION AS SUPREME COURT DECISION LOOMS
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2026
CONTACT: Nicole Velasco at
media@faith-freedom.COM
For Immediate Release, Murrieta, CA – Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed a motion asking a federal court to reconsider a sweeping dismissal of its lawsuit defending female athletes from California policies that allow biological males to compete in girls’ sports.
The lawsuit, brought on behalf of student-athletes and the organization Save Girls’ Sports, challenges California’s enforcement of AB 1266 and related school policies that force female athletes to compete with and against biological males and punish students who speak out about it.
The court dismissed the entire case after concluding the dispute had become “moot” because one of the male athletes identified in the complaint graduated. But the ruling went far beyond the issues raised in the motions before the court. The judge dismissed all eight claims, including claims that defendants never asked the court to dismiss and claims seeking monetary damages for past harm.
In response, Advocates for Faith & Freedom has filed a motion for reconsideration explaining that the decision ignored controlling law and overlooked key facts. The lawsuit includes claims for monetary damages under Title IX and federal civil rights law – claims that cannot be declared moot simply because a student has graduated.
The motion also points out that the policies allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports remain fully in place and continue to impact female athletes today. Plaintiffs have already identified another male athlete competing in girls’ events under the same policy, demonstrating the controversy is ongoing.
Advocates says the decision comes at a remarkable moment in the national legal landscape.
Within months, the United States Supreme Court is expected to rule in cases involving many of the same legal questions – whether biological males can compete in women’s sports and access female spaces.
“The legal tide on this issue is unmistakable,” said Advocates Senior Legal Counsel, Julianne Fleischer. “The Supreme Court is preparing to address these questions directly, and the momentum across the country is moving toward restoring the protections Title IX was designed to guarantee.”
“We are litigating in the belly of the beast,” said Robert Tyler, President and Chief Counsel of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “California has pushed some of the most aggressive policies in the nation, even as the Supreme Court has recently struck down unconstitutional laws coming out of this state.”
Advocates for Faith & Freedom remains confident that the law, and ultimately the courts, will vindicate the rights of female athletes.
“The writing is on the wall,” Robert Tyler added. “The overwhelming weight of the Constitution, Title IX, and the direction of the Supreme Court all point the same way. We are confident that women’s sports will be protected and that these young women will ultimately prevail.”
The case is far from over. Plaintiffs are asking the court to correct its ruling and allow the claims to proceed so the underlying constitutional and civil rights violations can be addressed.
“Female athletes deserve fairness,” Julianne Fleischer stated. “And we intend to see this fight through until the law is enforced.”
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PRESS RELEASE | SEVEN AMICUS BRIEFS URGE SUPREME COURT TO TAKE CHURCH FINES CASE: STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA LEADS SUPPORT
ADVOCATES FOR FAITH & FREEDOM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2026
CONTACT: NICOLE VELASCO
MEDIA@FAITH-FREEDOM.COM
Washington D.C. — As Advocates for Faith & Freedom and the American Center for Law & Justice ask the United States Supreme Court to reverse California’s $3 million of fines and attorneys’ fees against Calvary Chapel San Jose for their religious worship, seven amicus curiae briefs have now been filed in support of position. The seven briefs urge the Court to take the case.
Most notably, the State of West Virginia, joined by 19 additional states, has stepped forward signaling the high stakes and national implications of our case. Our First Amendment freedoms hang in the balance, and our case demonstrates the real dangers of unchecked government power over the Church.
The amici make clear that this case reaches far beyond one congregation or one state. They warn that if massive financial penalties for worship are allowed to stand, government officials will be emboldened to use economic coercion to force churches into submission whenever an “emergency” is declared.
“This is not about pandemic policy. It is about whether the First Amendment has any force to protect a churches worship services when a government claims emergency powers,” said Robert Tyler, President and Chief Counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom. “A government that can fine a church into submission can silence any church.”
The briefs underscore that California defied Supreme Court precedent, imposed ruinous fines, and treated religious worship worse than comparable secular activity. Without Supreme Court intervention, that dangerous precedent will remain.
The Court will now decide whether it will step in to halt the weaponization of government power against churches and reaffirm that constitutional rights do not disappear in times of crisis.
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Advocates for Faith & Freedom is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting constitutional and religious liberty in the courts. Our mission is to engage in cases that will uphold our religious liberty and America’s heritage and to educate Americans about our fundamental constitutional rights.