Transgender Student Asks Appeals Court to Stop Virginia School鈥檚 Discriminatory Restroom Policy

老澳门开奖结果 Seeks Reversal of Lower Court Decision That Forces Trans Students to Continue Using Separate Facilities

October 21, 2015 10:30 am

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RICHMOND, Va. 鈥揋avin Grimm, a transgender male student in Gloucester County, Virginia, today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to stop his school district from enforcing a discriminatory policy that segregates transgender students from their peers and requires them to use 鈥渁lternative private鈥 restroom facilities.

The 老澳门开奖结果 and ALCU of Virginia, representing Gavin, brought the case against the Gloucester County School Board in June 2015 seeking an injunction for immediate relief. But in September, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar against Gavin, keeping the discriminatory policy in place and dismissing Gavin鈥檚 claim under Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by schools. The appellate brief asks the Fourth Circuit to reverse that decision.

鈥淲e hope and expect that the Fourth Circuit will reverse the lower court鈥檚 ruling and reaffirm that Title IX and the Constitution protect transgender students from being singled out for different treatment simply because of who they are,鈥 said Joshua Block, senior staff attorney in the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Project. 鈥淪chool officials must treat all students equally and may not demean and stigmatize transgender students by relegating them to separate restrooms from their peers."

In June, the Department of Justice filed a brief supporting Gavin in his sex discrimination claim, stating, 鈥淭here is a public interest in ensuring that all students, including transgender students, have the opportunity to learn in an environment free of sex discrimination.鈥

Although the district court refused to grant Gavin the injunction that would have let him to use the boys鈥 restroom when school resumes, it has not yet ruled on whether Gavin鈥檚 constitutional claim under the Fourteenth Amendment can move forward.

鈥淪chool has been back in session for almost two months and I鈥檓 still dealing with the day-to-day humiliation of being singled out from other students as a result of the school board鈥檚 policy,鈥 said Gavin. 鈥淓ven though this has been a long battle, I鈥檓 pushing forward because all transgender students in Virginia deserve to live fully as who they are.鈥

Gavin鈥檚 medical treatment for severe gender dysphoria requires that he socially transition in all aspects of his life. With permission from school administrators, Gavin used the boys鈥 restroom for almost two months at the beginning of his sophomore year without incident. But after receiving complaints from some parents and residents of Gloucester County, the school board adopted the new policy on December 9, 2014, by a vote of 6-1, despite warnings from the 老澳门开奖结果.

鈥淲e hoped that Gavin would get a fresh start at the beginning of the school year, and we are disappointed that will not happen,鈥 said Gail Deady, the Secular Society Women's Rights Legal Fellow at the 老澳门开奖结果 of Virginia. 鈥淕avin continues to suffer irreparable harm every day he is singled out for different treatment and forced to use separate restrooms from everyone else.鈥


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