Rooting Trans Rights in CRLA Values and California Law: An Open Letter to CRLA Staff

Note: CRLA President and CEO Jessica Manriquez Jewell shared the following letter with CRLA staff statewide today.

Dear CRLA Staff, 

By now most of you have seen the news: on Tuesday, in West Virginia v. B.P.J., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can bar transgender girls and women from girls' and women's school sports. They don’t have to, but we expect to see national impact immediately. 

I join with CRLA's LGBTQ+ Program Director Carla Lopez and members of our LGBTQ+ employee affinity group in emphasizing this isn't just a headline—this is exactly the kind of moment CRLA's values ask something of all of us. We are community-led, committed to justice, radical, and compassionate, all of which tell us how to show up right now.

I want to name something plainly before I get to anything else: things are genuinely dark right now for transgender people nationwide, and especially for transgender youth. This isn't happening in isolation. It's part of why the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law has found that nearly half of transgender people surveyed have moved, or are considering moving, to a more accepting city, state, or country, often leaving jobs, homes, and family behind simply to feel safe. 

None of this darkness is abstract. The research is clear that it isn't being transgender that drives worse outcomes. It's stigma: the accumulated weight of discrimination and having your legitimacy publicly debated. It shows up as higher poverty and unemployment, lower housing stability, and people avoiding health care rather than face a provider who won't respect them, especially in rural communities. That's the day-to-day texture of this moment, well beyond one ruling.

The National Picture

To briefly recap the national picture, back in 2020, the Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that firing someone for being gay or transgender is illegal sex discrimination. Many of us hoped that logic would be carried into schools, healthcare, and sports. It mostly hasn't.

• Bostock remains national law, although recent Executive Orders have purposefully restricted its application, including enforcement at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 
• In 2025, the Court upheld bans on gender-affirming care for minors in Skrmetti. 
• In March 2026, the Court sided with a therapist against Colorado's conversion therapy ban in Chiles v. Salazar (a decision released on the Trans Day of Visibility, a celebration for the trans community). 
• This week, on the last day of Pride Month, the Court ruled that states may bar transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports in West Virginia v. B.P.J.

One thing worth being precise about: the ruling permits states to ban transgender athletes but it does not require it, and the Court was explicit it wasn't deciding whether states could choose otherwise. That distinction underscores what I really want to focus on – this ruling does not change the law where CRLA does our work.

California Leads

California leads. We are not most of the country. Our state is home to an estimated 263,700 transgender people—more than any other state. Our protections here are some of the strongest in the nation, and CRLA’s LGBTQ+ Justice advocacy is one of the reasons those protections don’t just sit on paper but actually reach people's lives.

Start with the exact issue in Tuesday's ruling. California law already answers the question the Court left open and answers it in a way that supports all students to thrive in our public schools. Under Education Code § 221.5(f), "a pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records." That's state law, untouched by Tuesday's decision. A transgender kid trying out for a team in rural California has exactly the same right to play with her friends that she had last week.

The pattern holds beyond sports, too:

• California was the first state, in 2004, to explicitly protect transgender workers from job discrimination—later written into our state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act through the 2012 Gender Nondiscrimination Act, covering employment, housing, and public accommodations at employers with as few as five people. 
• Name and gender-marker corrections here are self-attestation, no medical proof required. 
• State-regulated health plans must cover medically necessary gender-affirming care, strengthened by the 2023 TGI Inclusive Care Act. 
• California strengthened privacy protections in 2025 with the Transgender Privacy Act, which built on the groundwork of CRLA advocates and our transgender clients.

CRLA remains steadfast in its commitment to transgender and gender diverse youth across rural California. This week’s Supreme Court ruling doesn't change who these young people are or what they deserve: autonomy over their own bodies and identities, the simple joy of playing on a team with their friends, and equal treatment under the law. Every child deserves a childhood built on safety and belonging, not suspicion and scrutiny. 

CRLA will keep standing with transgender and gender diverse individuals, youth, and their families—in our schools, our communities, and our courts—for as long as it takes. Every time one of you helps someone update identity documents, keeps a transgender client housed, wins a discrimination case, or makes sure someone's insurance covers the care they need, you're the reason California's law is real instead of theoretical.

I also want to say something directly to our transgender and queer colleagues and communities: I know this ruling isn't an abstraction. It's personal, and you're doing this work while living it. We see you, and we don't take that for granted. If you need space or support this week, ask, and it will be there.

Don't let the national headlines make you feel the legal ground is shifting under your feet here—it isn't. 

I'm genuinely proud of how we show up at CRLA and grateful to do this work alongside rural Californians whose lived experiences can shape a world where all communities prosper. Thank you, especially for the work that doesn't make headlines. We are why California continues to lead the nation toward fulfilling its promise of justice for all. We are radical, compassionate, community-led, committed to justice, and we fight on—together.  

In community,
Jessica Manriquez Jewell
President and CEO