Transgender teen sues St. Johns County schools over bathroom restrictions

[Tacachale]

Transgender teen sues St. Johns County schools over bathroom restrictions

Posted June 28, 2017 03:00 pm | Updated June 28, 2017 07:06 pm
By Denise Amos

A transgender student attending Allen D. Nease High School sued the St. Johns County school district in federal court Wednesday to defend his right to use the boys bathrooms.

Drew Adams, 16, a junior, has lived as a boy since 2015 and has been open about being transgender since freshman year. He dresses as a boy, is undergoing hormone treatments and is a Gay/Straight Alliance student leader.

One day during his freshman year, he was pulled from a classroom and told he must use only gender-neutral bathrooms because someone complained anonymously.

Erica Adams, his mother, said she talked with school officials who told her the decision came from the district. She then talked with two assistant superintendents who told her that forcing transgender students to use gender-neutral facilities is "best practice," she said.

Nease High at the time had only two gender-neutral bathrooms, one in an art classroom and one in the main office. Briefly a staff bathroom was made available, but that has since become off-limits, Drew said.

Drew now has to walk past multiple boys bathrooms and far from his classes to use a bathroom. He also tries to limit his liquid intake and takes other measures to comply with the new requirement, Erica Adams said; sometimes he's late to class.

Drew said that before the complaint, he never was hassled or questioned about his bathroom use, "not even a funny look."

"When the school district took away my right to do what other students do, I felt incredibly isolated," he said. "It signaled to the entire student body that I'm somehow different."

Most students and school staff who know him are still friendly and accepting, Drew said. They refer to him as a male and use his chosen name.

But the district is violating federal Title IX education laws and the 14th Amendment equal protection guarantees by discriminating against a student based on sex, said Paul Castillo, a lawyer for Lambda Legal, which represents the teen. Lambda Legal is a national organization seeking civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV.

Castillo pointed out that in May a Wisconsin high school student won an appellate case under similar circumstances. In that case, a three-judge panel found unanimously that student has a right to be treated as a boy and that the damage to the student was greater and more obvious than the potential damage that high school said might impact other male students.

...

The bathroom police have cracked down at Nease High School, forcing a transgender student not to use men's bathrooms, and instead trek across campus to use one of the few gender neutral bathrooms. This was a reversal of their past policy; he was able to use the men's rooms for years until there was an anonymous complaint. Sadly, the school chose to put the squeamishness of one anonymous complainer over the rights of a student to use the bathroom.

Often missed in discussions about St. Johns County's highly rated school system is the fact that it's the product of demographics. It is very homogeneous and has a disproportionately white, white collar population that values education. Residents also tend to be socially conservative, and unfortunately that means a lot of backwards homophobia and transphobia is been baked in, to the detriment of their students. Contrast with Duval County, where the school system has allowed students to use the bathroom of their gender identity for years, without any incident.

St. Johns has its vaunted school ratings, but at least in Duval students can use their own damn bathroom.

[Tacachale]

The article also touches on, but doesn't directly address, the fact that the interpretation of Title IX that protected the ability of transgender students to use their own bathroom was reversed in February by President Trump. SJCPS felt emboldened to deny Drew Adams the ability to use men's bathrooms after that reversal.

Also worth noting that part of the stated reasoning for reversing the previous interpretation was the fact that there was "significant litigation" over the directive, which had been put in place by President Obama. Well, now SJCPS is facing litigation due to its actions after the directive was reversed.

Bad policy all around.

[Tacachale]

^I agree with the sentiment, but given the context, I don't think "pussy" is a very cool thing to call them. Especially if you're going to bowdlerize the spelling with $$'s like some kind of $@&#*

[Ashley271]

Oh well, this the first time that I hear about such thing. It just plain stupid and I wonder how it will end...  I am eagerly waiting for some updates.