A federal judge has denied the preliminary injunction sought by the Palmer family of Roanoke County, meaning their homeschooled ninth-grader, Samuel, cannot compete on his public high school's cross-country and track teams while his lawsuit against the Virginia High School League plays out. The family sued March 30, 2026, with the Founding Freedoms Law Center.
Why now: the judge ruled on the family's request for emergency relief after a hearing — Samuel has already missed part of his freshman season waiting for a decision. The main lawsuit is still alive; only the request to compete immediately was turned down.
The case argues VHSL's policy violates the Equal Protection Clause and Virginia's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, noting that private-school, governor's-school, and online-public students can already participate — but not the state's roughly 66,000 homeschoolers. The family points out that 31 other states already let homeschoolers play. VHSL says its members chose to limit participation to their own enrolled students and is prepared to defend that in court.
Courts have generally held there's no standalone constitutional right to play interscholastic sports, which is the headwind this case faces. A loss on the injunction is not a loss on the merits — but it does keep Samuel off the course this season.