U.S. Court Rules for Virginia Student on Transgender Bathroom Access

(Editor’s note: the author’s pronoun usage below does not reflect the views of RL) A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ruled for a Virginia transgender student seeking access to the bathroom of his gender identity in a case that could impact the national bathroom wars playing out between gay rights activists and social conservatives.

The ruling by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sent back to a lower court the widely watched case that considered whether transgender students are protected by the 1972 Title IX Act, which prohibits sex-based discrimination by schools receiving federal funding.

Student Gavin Grimm was barred from using the boys’ bathroom at his local high school in Gloucester County, Virginia. Grimm was born a female but identifies as a male.

After drawing community complaints for allowing Grimm to use the boys’ bathroom, the school district approved a policy in December 2014 requiring students to use single-stall unisex restrooms or restrooms associated with their physical sex.

The appellate court reversed a district court’s dismissal of a Title IX claim by the student and said he could proceed with his lawsuit, which contends that the school board’s decision was discriminatory. (Read more from “U.S. Court Rules for Virginia Student on Transgender Bathroom Access” HERE)

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