Crossed Lines—Pennsylvania Federal Court Tosses HS Runner’s Lawsuit Against PIAA

The U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently dismissed a contentious suit filed by Aislin Magalengo, a Quakertown Community High School cross-country runner. Magalengo complained her civil rights had been violated following a competition against a transgender athlete in multiple meets during the 2024–25 season. Magalengo had argued in her lawsuit that the Colonial School District and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) policies were discriminating against her based on sex, an action that she said was a violation of Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The outrage was in large part due to one meet, where Magalengo (a senior at Quakertown High School at the time) ran in a meet against Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, where she finished second in a race to a transgender girl who was competing for the other school. After the race, Magalengo allegedly told the other runner, “You are not a girl. You should not be racing against girls.” Following the incident, outraged Plymouth Whitemarsh coaches reached out to the Quakertown High Athletic Director to address Magalengo’s comments. At the same time, Magalengo’s parents also petitioned the school to prevent further transgender athlete participation—but were ultimately informed that PIAA rules vest the decision in the principals of individual schools, meaning they could not restrict other runners. Notably, this meet happened before the Trump executive order aimed to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports, but after the PIAA changed the word “gender” to “sex” after the order, the runners were allowed to continue to race one another.

Unsatisfied, Magalengo filed a January 2025 lawsuit that named the Colonial School District, Quakertown High School, the PIAA, and several school officials as defendants. The runner’s complaint included the aforementioned Title IX and Equal Protection Clause arguments among her five total claims, arguing that the PIAA’s decision to fail to bar transgender athlete participation effectively allowed transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports, unfairly disadvantaging cisgender female athletes like Magalengo.

The defendants filed a motion to dismiss, as they contended that Magalengo’s complaint did not allege any actionable discrimination. The defendants further argued that several of Magalengo’s claims were pursuing remedies that were unavailable under Title IX. The court largely agreed with these points, ultimately dismissing most of the runner’s claims with prejudice while leaving a select few claims subject to future refiling.

The court rejected the Title IX claims against both the Colonial School District and Quakertown, ultimately holding that Magalengo failed to demonstrate that either body had “substantial control” over the alleged discrimination or its context. The original race occurred at Quakertown, but school officials did not have control over whether the transgender athlete from Plymouth Whitemarsh could race, so neither district could be said to be directly responsible for the decision.

The court further dismissed claims against individual officials who were in both districts, holding that the case-by-case basis Plymouth Whitemarsh used to determine transgender athlete participation did not amount to an “official proclamation, policy, or edict” and was not otherwise a discriminatory directive from the defendant administrators.

Lastly, the court addressed the claims that Magalengo made under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause. The runner argued that by allowing transgender girls to take part in girls’ races, the PIAA was treating her differently from other athletes based on her sex. However, the court felt differently, stating that Magalengo was “treated the same as a student assigned male at birth . . . in that they were both allowed to compete in girls’ sports.” The court also said that equal protection does not look at whether equal treatment has disparate impact between groups but rather if similarly situated individuals were treated differently by the state. In general, the court determined, Magalengo did not demonstrate the defendants’ intent to discriminate against her, so her Fourteenth Amendment claim was not feasible.

In addition, some of the claims, such as complaints Magalengo made against Colonial authorities accusing them of being responsible for discriminating against her, were dismissed without prejudice—a decision that preserves the right to bring suit again in the future. For the time being, at least, the case is a decisive victory for member schools and the PIAA. The ruling underscores the hurdles facing athletes pursuing Title IX and Equal Protection claims against transgender inclusion in high school sports, especially where individual determinations and local discretion are the final authority on eligibility.