The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear up the issue of whether the nation’s schools must allow students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identities, staying with the lower court’s ruling that found the policy “unconstitutional.”
The case involved former high school student Gavin Grimm, who filed a federal lawsuit after being denied access to the boys’ bathroom at his public high school.
“This is is the third time in recent years that the Supreme Court has allowed appeals of court decisions in support of transgender students to stand,” said Josh Block, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Our work is not yet done, and the ACLU is continuing to fight against anti-trans laws targeting trans youth in states around the country.”
The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear Grimm’s case at an earlier stage of the litigation in 2017, but the case was sent back to the lower courts after the Trump administration withdrew the government’s support for Grimm’s claims.
The Department of Justice and Department of Education have affirmed these court decisions with recent actions in cases involving transgender youth.
“I am glad that my years-long fight to have my school see me for who I am is over,” Grimm said. “Being forced to use the nurse’s room, a private bathroom, and the girl’s room was humiliating for me, and having to go to out-of-the-way bathrooms severely interfered with my education. Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials.”
