A Michigan school board has voted to limit girls' athletics and locker rooms to biological females, following a student's lawsuit over an undisclosed transgender opponent on the court.
The Monroe Public Schools Board of Education approved a policy titled "Girl's Athletic Participation and Facilities Use," restricting both team participation and access to girls' athletic facilities to biological females as listed on the birth certificate at the time of birth. The vote was 4 yes, 2 no, with one member absent.
Superintendent Andrew Shaw confirmed the result in an email and said his job is to carry out what the board decides. The new rule covers only Monroe Public Schools and does not bind visiting teams.
Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the proposed policy and reported the board action after a federal lawsuit tied to a September volleyball match.
On September 9, 2025, Monroe High School's girls' volleyball team faced Ann Arbor's Skyline High School. Briley Lechner, a 16-year-old varsity player, later said she had no idea a biological male was on the opposing roster.
She also said she shared a locker room with that athlete without knowing it. On October 9, Briley and her father, Sean Lechner, filed a federal lawsuit announced by the Thomas More Law Center. The suit names Monroe Public Schools, the Michigan High School Athletic Association, and school officials. It raises Title IX and constitutional claims.
The legal group said the complaint alleges school officials knowingly concealed from the Monroe girls' team and their parents that the match would involve a biological male identified as a transgender female.
"What's very scary is that the day that this happened, I had no clue that there was a boy on the other team,"
Briley Lechner told Fox News Digital in an October 15 interview.
She framed the case in plain terms.
"Our family loves and respect everyone, regardless of our differences. This has always been about my privacy, my safety, and fair play. Nothing more, nothing less."
And she pressed the larger point for female athletes.
"Every female athlete deserves to have her rights respected and protected. Boys do NOT belong in girls’ locker rooms or girls’ sports. Every girl deserves to feel safe, respected, and protected, both in the locker room and on the court. We should NEVER have to fight for that."
The policy language is direct. Participation in girls' athletics at Monroe Public Schools "shall be restricted to biological females as documented on the birth certificate at the time of birth." Access to and use of girls' athletic facilities, including locker rooms, follows the same rule.
Shaw described the vote and his role without fanfare.
"The Board of Education approved a new policy with a vote of 4 yes and 2 no with one board member absent,"
he wrote. He added that implementing board policy is his duty as superintendent, and that the rule applies only inside the district.
That local limit matters. Visiting schools are not covered. The Michigan High School Athletic Association remains a defendant in the broader suit, so statewide practice is still unsettled even as Monroe draws its own boundary.
Sean Lechner welcomed the board action but did not treat it as the end of the fight. He said the family has taken heat since the lawsuit became public.
"The new policy may be watered down, but it's an incremental victory for my daughter and every female athlete. It's shameful it took nearly a year to get here but we still have work to do. Who's to say they can't change it again? Regardless of how some try to twist the narrative, this has ALWAYS been about my daughter's privacy, safety, and fair play. Nothing more, nothing less!"
He also said he and his daughter have received more harassing and threatening messages since the case was announced. His answer was straightforward: he is a father standing with his daughter, and no amount of hate will silence that.
He urged other parents to put differences aside, restore common sense at home, and protect their children so no daughter ever has to ask why no one stood up for her.
The Monroe vote arrives amid a national fight over males in girls' sports and private spaces. Local boards can still act. This one did, after a student said she was left in the dark about who was in her locker room and across the net.
The policy ties eligibility to the birth certificate at birth. That is a clear, durable standard. It protects the female category instead of erasing it. It also leaves the larger association rules and the federal case still open.
Briley Lechner did not ask for special treatment. She asked for the basic promise that girls' sports and girls' locker rooms remain for girls. Her school board finally put that promise on paper. Parents elsewhere still have to decide whether they will do the same before another athlete is forced to learn the hard way.
Girls should not have to sue their own schools to keep fair play and basic privacy. Monroe took a necessary step. The rest of the country still has work to do.
