CHARLESTON, West Virginia — A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled against a West Virginia law banning transgender females from participating in girls and women’s sports in public schools and colleges, allowing a 13-year-old transgender girl to compete with her middle school’s cross country and track teams.

Becky Pepper-Jackson, an eighth-grader at Bridgeport Middle School in Bridgeport, W.Va., challenged the ban when it was enacted in 2021, CNN reports . Pepper-Johnson has identified as a transgender girl since she was in the third grade and takes puberty-blocking medications, Reuters reports .

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the West Virginia law is a violation of Title IX, ABC News reports . Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

“Offering B.P.J. a ‘choice’ between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams is no real choice at all,” Judge Toby Heytens wrote in the ruling, NBC News reports . “The defendants cannot expect that B.P.J. will countermand her social transition, her medical treatment, and all the work she has done with her schools, teachers, and coaches for nearly half her life by introducing herself to teammates, coaches, and even opponents as a boy.”

In February 2023, the court blocked the state’s bid to kick Pepper-Jackson off her middle school cross country and track teams if the law were enforced.

The American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter and LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal all were involved in the lawsuit against the state, county boards of education and their superintendents.

“This is a tremendous victory for our client, transgender West Virginians, and the freedom of all youth to play as who they are,” ACLU West Virginia attorney Joshua Block said in a statement.

Reuters reports the court did not completely strike down the West Virginia law. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said the state plans to continue defending the ban.

“We must keep working to protect women’s sports so that women’s safety is secured and girls have a truly fair playing field,” he said, according to NBC News. “We know the law is correct and will use every available tool to defend it.”