A lawsuit involving Knoch School District and others that challenged LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections in Pennsylvania has been dismissed by Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court.

The lawsuit — South Side Area School District, Knoch School District, et al. v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission — filed in Commonwealth Court in March of 2025, challenged regulations advanced by Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

The case was dismissed due to lack of standing on Oct. 9, according to court documents. The court found plaintiffs failed to show “any discernable adverse effect” from the regulations.

The lawsuit challenged the legality of the state’s investigation of complaints of discrimination involving sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, claiming it goes beyond the intended law.

Knoch’s solicitor, Tom Breth — along with attorneys from law firm Dillon, McCandless, King, Coulter & Graham — argued the executive branch of Pennsylvania was “expanding” the interpretation of sex beyond male and female and that it does not have the authority to do so.

Petitioners included Knoch; South Side School District in Beaver County; state Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-8th, and several parents filing both individually and on behalf of their children.

At a hearing last December, attorneys representing the plaintiffs argued the human rights commission circumvented the state legislature by improperly expanding the definition of sex in anti-discrimination regulations to include gender and restroom designations.

Aimee Thomson, Pennsylvania deputy general counsel, argued at the time the commission has broad rulemaking authority to implement Pennsylvania Human Relations Act policies including definitions and the state Supreme Court has upheld that authority.

In the Oct. 9 opinion filed by the court, the majority did not rule on the human rights commission’s authority to promulgate rules, but found the plaintiffs lacked standing.

“The regulation’s definition of ‘sex’ may raise interesting questions if and when an actual controversy exists. However, those questions are not justiciable at this time, and this court lacks the power to adjudicate the matter,” the opinion reads.

The decision by Knoch School District and its board to join the lawsuit drew public scrutiny.

In the months following the school board’s decision to join the lawsuit, large numbers of district parents showed up to multiple school board meetings urging the board to withdraw from the lawsuit. Speakers condemned the school board for what they saw as endorsing an atmosphere of intolerance among marginalized groups by participating in the lawsuit.

The board was also criticized for contributing $10,000 in taxpayer funds toward litigation.

While the case was being argued, additional questions emerged when Commonwealth Court Judge Matthew Wolf accused plaintiff’s attorneys of filing a brief that included AI hallucinations. The attorneys strongly denied the accusations.