MEREDITH, NH (AP) — The families of two transgender teenagers in New Hampshire filed a lawsuit Friday challenging a new state law that bans them from participating on girls’ sports teams at their public high schools.

The question of how to deal with transgender athletes has been hotly debated in the United States in recent years and has sparked numerous lawsuits. Two weeks ago, a school employee in Florida who allowed her transgender daughter to play on the high school girls’ volleyball team was was suspended for 10 days. The employee is part of a federal lawsuit to block the state law. Meanwhile, a legal challenge Connecticut’s policy regarding transgender students participating in school sports has been going through the courts for several years.

The New Hampshire lawsuit states that Parker Tirrell, 15, and Iris Turmelle, 14, both knew from a young age that they were girls and were accepted as such by their parents, peers, teammates and coaches.

Tirrell, who is entering 10th grade at Plymouth Regional High School this year, played soccer on the girls’ team in 9th grade and said she wants to start practicing with the team again before the first game on Aug. 30.

“When I play soccer with my teammates, I feel the most free and happy. We are there for each other, whether we win or lose,” she said in a statement. “If I wasn’t allowed to play with the other girls on my team, it would separate me from so many of my friends and make school much more difficult.”

The lawsuit says both girls have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, a feeling of distress caused by a discrepancy between their birth sex and their gender identity. Both take puberty blockers to prevent physical changes such as muscle growth, facial hair growth or a deepening voice that could exacerbate distress.

The lawsuit alleges that New Hampshire’s law violates constitutional and federal law by denying the youth equal educational opportunities and discriminating against them on the basis of their transsexuality.

The lawsuit names New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut and other education officials as defendants.

New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act last month, which takes effect next week.

He said at the time that the law enjoyed broad support and that New Hampshire joined almost half of all U.S. states that had taken such a measure.

The law “ensures fairness and safety in women’s sports by maintaining the integrity and competitive balance in athletic competition,” Sununu said in a statement last month.

Both the education commissioner and the governor referred their inquiries to the state Department of Justice, which said it was reviewing the complaint and would “respond accordingly.”

Turmelle is starting her freshman year of high school at Pembroke Academy and says she is excited to try out for both the tennis and track teams.

“I am a transgender girl, I have known that my whole life and everyone knows I am a girl,” she said in a statement. “I don’t understand why I shouldn’t have the same opportunities in school as other girls.”

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Concord, asks for an immediate ruling allowing both girls to play or participate in tryouts. The girls and their families are represented by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), the ACLU of New Hampshire and Goodwin.

“New Hampshire cannot justify singling out transgender girls and denying them important educational benefits available to other students,” said Chris Erchull, a senior attorney at GLAD.