Utah trans teens’ mental health records private

SALT LAKE CITY — Transgender teenagers who are challenging a Utah law banning trans girls from playing on girls’ sports teams can keep portions of their mental health records confidential after a state judge ruled Thursday that some details are irrelevant to the case.

Two student-athletes whose families sued over the 2022 state law were ordered in September by Judge Keith Kelly to give state attorneys access to the last seven years of their mental health records, as well as all documents related to medical transition and puberty.

Kelly temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the ban, which took effect last year after the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode Gov. Spencer Cox’s veto, while the court continues to assess its legality.

Kelly ruled in August that transgender girls could return to athletic competition after hearing several hours of student testimony describing how exclusion from sports was causing them significant distress. He described the ban as “plainly unfavorable treatment” and said it must be put on pause to protect the girls from “irreparable harm.”

But because the girls’ “physical, mental and emotional circumstances” factored into his decision, he also determined that their mental health records were relevant to the case.

His ruling Thursday does little to alleviate privacy concerns raised by the plaintiffs’ attorneys, who argue the state should not have access to the deeply personal mental health records of children who have not waived their therapist-client privilege.

Only details concerning irrelevant third parties, certain isolated events and the students’ deadnames, or the birth names that they no longer use, will remain redacted, Kelly said Thursday.