The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked a federal judge’s order that permitted a transgender high school student to use the bathroom of his choice, the first time the issue has reached the country’s highest court.
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High school student Gavin Grimm, 17, sued the school board in Gloucester County, Virginia, past year after it passed a policy requiring students to use bathrooms corresponding with their “biological sex”, resulting in him being barred from the boys’ bathroom. A directive from the Obama administration threatening schools with the loss of federal money for discrimination based on gender identity has been challenged in court by more than 20 states.
However, before June ended, WAVY News 10 reported that the Gloucester County School board has appealed to the courts the previous ruling.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided in April with Grimm, who argued the policy barring him from using the boys bathroom violated federal education discrimination law. And on Wednesday, the justices granted that request in a brief order. If it decides to hear the case, the stay remains in place until the court hears oral arguments and issues a decision. The other three liberal justices voted to deny the school board’s plea.
After the announcement of the 5-3 ruling (Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan voted in the affirmative for the lower court’s ruling), Block expressed dismay. The policy was that students should use the bathrooms for their biological sex, but if any felt uncomfortable doing so, a separate facility would be provided for these self-identifying transgender individuals.
The sometimes-polarized court won’t decide what to do about the transgender bathroom case until around the election, and possibly months later.
“The board continues to believe that its resolution of this complex matter fully considered the interests of all students and parents in the Gloucester County school system”, a statement read.
He said that policies on restroom use are “a local issue”. His school, however, does have a private bathroom he can use, so he will not be forced to use the girls bathroom. “CMS will respect the Supreme Court’s decision just as we did that of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals”.
Josh Block, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union representing Gavin, said he was disappointed by the decision because it will leave Grimm isolated from the rest of the student body. It’s not unheard of to vote as a courtesy, but it’s most often seen in cases regarding the death penalty – as ThinkProgress explains, “when four justices wish to hear a case but a fifth vote is necessary to stay the execution – lest the inmate be executed before their case receives full review”.
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The Supreme Court ruling said that if the justices agreed to hear Grimm’s case, the order would remain on hold until the court makes a final ruling.
