Although Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in February left the Court with only eight justices, five votes are still required to grant a stay under its rules.
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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan would have denied the stay. The stay will last until the Supreme Court either refuses to hear the case or hears and decides the case.
In a short opinion, Justice Breyer stated that he cast the fifth vote “as a courtesy” to preserve the status quo.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that “Obama is turning bathrooms into courtroom issues”, while Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that the directive will be “the beginning of the end of the public school system as we know it”. That segregation has caused the teenager to be singled out and harassed by his classmates, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Grimm in the lawsuit. Initially the school’s policy had been struck down by a Virginia appeals court, but the Supreme Court has voted 5-4 to temporarily stay that decision until they can issue a fuller ruling.
Since the Obama administration delivered the guidance in May, states and districts have opted to handle the matter in many different ways; though states have the option to largely dictate how schools operate within their borders, many agree that a universal set of standards is desirable and that such a mismatch of policy hurts the students we are looking to protect.
On Thursday, as news spread that the SCOTUS hold would prevent Grimm from using the boys’ restroom, advocates offered support on social media using the hashtag #LoveForGavin.
The Department of Education wrote that its interpretation “is consistent with courts’ and other agencies’ interpretations of federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination”, and linked to the case.
The 16-year-old boy, Gavin Grimm, was born biologically as a female but identifies as male. Its policy, adopted in 2014, requires transgender students to use either a private bathroom or the restrooms assigned to their biological sex.
Grimm’s supporters and other transgender students believe this is a violation of Title IX, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex.
“Banishing transgender students from the restrooms used by their peers unquestionably interferes with their equal educational opportunity under Title IX”, Block argued.
The court will not act again on this issue until October at the earliest, meaning Grimm will begin his senior year at Gloucester High School unable to use the boys’ bathroom.
The Associated Press reports that the high court has put on hold a lower court ruling that ordered the Gloucester County School Board to let Gavin Grimm use the bathroom that matches his gender identity.
Wednesday’s order means the student, Gavin Grimm, 17, will not be able to use the restroom of his choice when school starts, NBC News said.
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The Human Rights Campaign is the largest advocacy group for the movement advocating for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.
