A federal judge has ruled against a group of Bow parents who claimed their First Amendment rights were violated when the local school district barred them from wearing pink wristbands to protest against transgender athletes playing in girls’ sports.

In a lawsuit brought by the parents against the Bow School District and Superintendent Marcy Kelley, U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe ruled on Monday that the district acted reasonably in its decision to prevent parents from protesting.

He wrote that the “XX” symbols displayed on pink wristbands worn by parents opposing transgender athletes might “poison the educational atmosphere.”

“The broader and more demeaning/harassing message the School District understood plaintiffs’ ‘XX’ symbols to convey was, in context, entirely reasonable,” wrote McAuliffe.

The order also makes clear that the plaintiffs are free to display their symbols and signage in any public forum — but not at Bow High School-sponsored activities.

School grounds are considered a limited public forum, allowing the school to restrict speech to certain topics aligning with its policies.

The lawsuit, brought forth by parents Anthony Foote, Nicole Foote, Kyle Fellers and Eldon Rash, a family member of Fellers, centers around events that unfolded at a Bow High School girls’ soccer game against Plymouth Regional High School on Sept. 17.

Parker Tirrell, a transgender female athlete, was playing on the Plymouth team. During the game, a small group of parents wore pink wristbands featuring “XX,” a symbol referencing the sex chromosomes associated with biological females, to protest the participation of transgender girls on girls’ sports teams.

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The group of parents had not protested at any previous game.

The school issued no-trespass orders against the Fellers and Foote after they wore pink wristbands in protest.

In February, the parents asked the court to rule that they be allowed to wear pink wristbands at the spring games to protest transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports. Their request was denied.

Del Kolde, one of the attorneys representing the parents, said he strongly disagrees with the court’s opinion issued denying their request for a preliminary injunction. The parents are evaluating their next steps, said Kolde.

“This was adult speech in a limited public forum, which enjoys greater First Amendment protection than student speech in the classroom,” said Kolde in a statement. “Bow School District officials were obviously discriminating based on viewpoint because they perceived the XX wristbands to be ‘trans-exclusionary’.”

The court has yet to rule on the request to wear the pink wristbands at all school sporting events.

Both parties have 14 days to submit additional information ahead of a ruling on the plaintiffs’ request for permanent injunctive relief.

Based on the evidence presented, the school district has neither supported nor opposed either side of the controversial issue of transgender athletes participating in girls’ sports, according to the order.

Judge McAuliffe wrote that the school district, however, had a position with “adult parents targeting a visiting student athlete at a school soccer match.”

The plaintiffs have maintained that their pink wristbands were not meant to target any specific student but rather to protest the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

The issue of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports has drawn attention both across New Hampshire and nationwide. Last year, former Governor Chris Sununu signed a law requiring that sports teams for students in grades 5 through 12 be designated as “male, men, or boys,” “female, women, or girls,” or “coed or mixed.”

The law bars transgender athletes in New Hampshire from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. But the state law is being challenged in federal court. For now, as per the court order, Tirrell and Iris Turmelle of Pembroke continue to play on girls’ sports teams.

“This case presents an increasingly common, and commonly difficult constitutional problem: When may public school authorities limit symbolic speech during school athletic contests to protect students from perceived harm?” wrote McAuliffe in the order.

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com