A New York State Supreme Court judge has allowed transgender sprinter Sadie Schreiner’s discrimination lawsuit against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to proceed in narrowed form, rejecting RPI’s bid to dismiss the central claim tied to her exclusion from a women’s track meet in Troy, New York.
Judge Richard J. McNally ruled in Rensselaer County that RPI had not shown President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201 preempted New York anti-discrimination law, according to Times Union reporting.
Key Facts In The Case
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Schreiner, a former Rochester Institute of Technology sprinter, sued RPI in November 2025 after the school allegedly barred her from competing in the women’s category at its “Under the Lights Meet” in April 2025. Her lawsuit claims RPI violated the New York Human Rights Law by excluding her because she is a transgender woman.
RPI argued that its decision was shaped by Trump’s February 5, 2025 executive order and the NCAA’s policy change one day later.
Executive Order 14201 directs federal officials to treat women’s sports as reserved for women under the administration’s interpretation of Title IX and states that federal funds should be rescinded from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.
The NCAA policy, effective February 6, 2025, says athletes assigned male at birth may not compete on women’s teams or as individuals in women’s competition, and that the policy may not be waived, according to the NCAA participation policy.
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McNally did not give Schreiner a final victory on the merits. Instead, he refused to dismiss the main discrimination claim at this stage while dismissing other claims, including intentional infliction of emotional distress and a public-accommodation theory.
The ruling is significant because the judge rejected RPI’s argument that the executive order displaced state law. McNally wrote that Executive Order 14201 is not a statute or regulation and does not preempt New York law.
He also said the court did not believe Title IX “categorically bans” all transgender women from competing in women’s sports, according to Outsports coverage.
Legal Background And Context
New York’s Human Rights Law protects gender identity and expression. The New York State Division of Human Rights says it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on actual or perceived gender identity or expression, including because a person is transgender, according to the agency’s civil rights overview.
Schreiner had been a prominent Division III sprinter before the NCAA’s policy change. RIT’s athletics profile lists her as a two-time outdoor All-American in 2024, with a third-place finish in the 200 meters and eighth-place finish in the 400 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, according to her RIT athlete profile.
The case arrives during a broader national conflict over transgender athletes in school sports. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on cases involving Idaho and West Virginia laws that ban transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, including universities.
Reuters reported on June 28, 2026, that the court still had several unresolved cases near the end of its term, including the transgender-athlete disputes.
What Happens Next
Schreiner’s case now continues in New York state court on the surviving discrimination claim. RPI can still contest the allegations, and the ruling does not require a finding that the school ultimately violated state law. It means only that the central claim is legally strong enough to move beyond the dismissal stage.
The next phase may test how courts reconcile state-level gender identity protections with federal directives and sports-governing-body rules. Until a final judgment or settlement, the case remains unresolved, but the decision gives Schreiner a path to pursue her claim that RPI’s exclusion was unlawful under New York law.
