USA court rules in favor of transgender student

The ruling could impact anti-transgender laws in other states.

The 4th Circuit is the highest court to consider a question about whether bathroom restrictions, such as those in North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2, constitute sex discrimination and a violation of Title IX, the federal law governing gender harassment and discrimination.

Gavin Grimm, now a junior at Gloucester High School, transitioned to male during his sophomore year.

Although the majority opinion denied Gavin a preliminary injunction, it reinstated Gavin’s claim that the discriminatory restroom policy violates Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law prohibiting discrimination in schools based on sex. According to the court, the district judge appeared to use his personal opinion, rather than relying on the federal government’s interpretation of Title IX, Pate said.

Gavin Grimm says he was sound asleep at noon Tuesday, making up for a couple of nights of insomnia, when the telephone rang with news: A federal appeals court had ruled in his favor in a lawsuit over restroom access at his Virginia high school. The fourth circuit’s ruling applies directly to states in its territory, which also include Maryland, West Virginia and SC.

A Virginia transgender teen won a battle against his school board for the right to use the boys’ bathroom, a potential game changer in the national debate over Title IX and gender identity. “With this decision”, he said, “we hope that schools and legislators will finally get the message that excluding transgender kids from the restrooms is unlawful sex discrimination”. They passed HB2, which overturned a Charlotte City Council decision to allow transgender individuals to use the bathroom of the gender with which they identify.

North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, speaking to reporters just after the decision was made public, said he strongly disagrees with what he calls Democratic President Barack Obama’s “objective to force our high schools to allow a boy in a woman’s or girl’s locker room facility”.

Troy M. Andersen, chair of Virginia’s Gloucester County Public Schools, told LifeZette the school system is meeting with its attorney, “and we are planning to issue a statement perhaps this Friday”.

The Republican governor said the ruling “puts a whole dynamic” on North Carolina’s bathroom policy.

A U.S. Court of Appeals has determined that there is transgender discrimination in Virginia.

But when North Carolina’s most powerful politician – a man who at one point in his career in politics was a fairly reasonable guy – sinks to such levels and expresses such uninformed, spiteful and just plain mean views, it is a dark and embarrassing day for our state.

The superintendent of Gloucester County Public Schools, Walter Clemons, declined to comment.

In 2015, Joshua Block, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV Project, described the Gloucester school board policy that girls and boys should use separate bathrooms and locker rooms as “deeply stigmatizing and needlessly cruel”.

The appeals court remanded the case to the lower court to be reheard.

But after some parents complained, the school board required all students to use either the restroom matching their biological gender or a private toilet.

Judge Paul Niemeyer was the lone dissenter in the 2-1 ruling.

“It is my understanding that this ruling will most likely be immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court”, he continued.