A federal appeals court has denied a Virginia school board’s request to allow it to prevent a transgender teen from using the boys’ bathroom when he returns to school this September.
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The April ruling by the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Grimm was the first by an appeals court to find that transgender students are protected under federal laws that bar sex-based discrimination.
The governments filing says a Gloucester County School Board policy that requires Grimm to use either the girls restrooms or a unisex bathroom constitutes unlawful bias under Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. Grimm, a transgender student, recently received a victory in the case when the trial court judge issued an injunction against the school board applying the policy against him. But after some parents complained, the school board adopted a policy requiring students to use either the restroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private, single-stall restroom.
The move comes after a federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to put the injunction on hold.
Transgender students and their advocates say being able to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity is essential for them to feel comfortable and for their well-being. So far, 23 states have sued to block the directive.
Grimm’s case has been closely watched since North Carolina enacted a law banning transgender people from using public restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
Chief Justice Roberts can act on the school board’s request alone or ask the full court to consider it. If he chooses the latter, the school board must convince five justices to be successful.
During a meeting Monday night, the Pine-Richland School Board rejected two resolutions that would have temporarily set rules regarding the use of restrooms.
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The School Board said the appeals court should not have just deferred to the Obama administration’s position on the matter. “And for decades our Nation’s schools have structured their facilities and programs around the sensible idea that in certain intimate settings men and women may be separated” for the sake of privacy, the board’s attorney wrote. Another motion – which would have allowed students to use a bathroom that matched their expressed and personal gender identity – also failed on a 4-4 vote.
