Virginia Teen wins appeal on bathroom case

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Per Washington Post:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/federal-appeals-court-sides-with-trangender-teen-says-bathroom-case-can-go-forward/2016/04/19/6a873b88-f76b-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html

Federal appeals court sides with transgender teen, says bathroom case can go forward



A federal appeals court in Richmond has sided with a transgender high school student, saying that he can proceed with his lawsuit arguing that his school board's decision to ban him from the boys' bathroom is discriminatory.

In backing high school junior Gavin Grimm, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit deferred to the U.S. Education Department's interpretation of policies that give transgender students access to the bathrooms that match their gender identities rather than their biological sex. The federal department has said that denying transgender students access to the school bathrooms of their choice is a violation of Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funding.

"It's a complete vindication for the education department's interpretation of Title IX," said Joshua Block, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who represents Grimm.

In a 2-to-1 decision, the 4th Circuit reversed a lower court ruling, saying that court had used the wrong legal standard in denying the student a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to use the boys' bathroom at his high school in Gloucester County, Va. Judge Henry Floyd, who wrote the majority opinion, also ruled that the boy's discrimination lawsuit could move forward. The appeals court remanded the case to the lower court to be reheard.

The 4th Circuit is the highest court to weigh in on the question of whether bathroom restrictions constitute sex discrimination, and the decision could have widespread implications on how the courts interpret the issue as civil rights activists and local politicians battle over school bathrooms.

"The Department's interpretation resolves ambiguity by providing that in the case of a transgender individual using a sex-segregated facility, the individual's sex as male or female is to be generally determined by reference to the student's gender identity," the court wrote.

A U.S. District Court judge in Virginia last year denied Grimm's request for a preliminary injunction — which was backed by a statement of interest from the Justice Department — ruling that the privacy rights of other students outweigh the hardship Grimm endures by having to use a separate bathroom. That judge also granted the Gloucester County school board's motion to dismiss the suit outright, a decision that the 4th Circuit overturned Tuesday.

In the wake of the legalization of same-sex marriage, public bathrooms have become the latest battleground in the fight for LGBT rights, with conservative activists and some state lawmakers pushing restrictions that prevent transgender people from using bathrooms in accordance with their gender identity rather than their biological sex. Activists also have used the bathroom debate as a venue for rolling back broader civil rights protections for gay and transgender people, arguing that those protections create dangerous scenarios — in the supposedly safe spaces of single-sex public bathrooms — that violate privacy and common sense.

The case in Virginia centers on Grimm, now a junior at Gloucester High School. Grimm, who was born with female anatomy, came out as male to his classmates in high school and began using the boys' bathroom his sophomore year. Seven weeks later, angry parents raised concerns with the school board, prompting members to pass a policy that requires students to use school bathrooms corresponding with their "biological gender" and indicates that transgender students should use a separate, unisex bathroom.

Grimm sued the school board in federal court, arguing that the new rule violated Title IX, the federal law that bars gender discrimination in the nation's schools. He also asked for a preliminary injunction to allow him to use the boys' bathroom while his case proceeded. A U.S. District Court judge denied his request, and Grimm's attorneys appealed the decision to the 4th Circuit, which heard arguments on the case in late February.

Transgender students say that using the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity is important for them — and others — to feel comfortable. Transgender male students, for example, often dress and appear as boys, and it could generally raise alarms if they were to use a girls' bathroom. They also say that having to use a bathroom that doesn't match their gender identity, or having to go to a separate bathroom, can have negative psychological effects.

Grimm has said that the debate made him the subject of ridicule within his community, adding anguish to his adolescence, already a challenging time for many teens.

"Matters like identity and self-consciousness are something that most kids grapple with in this age range," Grimm said in January. "When you're a transgender teenager, these things are often very potent. I feel humiliated and dysphoric every time I'm forced to use a separate facility."