Friday, October 30, 2015
Federal Government Sides with Transgender Student in Fight to Gain Equal Access to Restroom
In September, a federal district court rejected the attempt of Gavin Grimm-a transgender student-to gain access to the boy's restroom in his public school in Gloucester County, Virginia. The district had previously allowed him to use the boy's restroom, but withdrew access after religious and other concerned groups raised objections. Grimm appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit. Wednesday, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice filed an amicus brief in support of Grimm. The argue in their brief that Grimm simply seeks "a benefit that every other student at this school enjoys: access to restrooms that are consistent with his or her gender identity. . . . Treating a student differently from other students because his birth-assigned sex diverges from his gender identity constitutes differential treatment on the basis of sex under Title IX."
The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education has already enforced this position in a few administrative complaints, but this may be the most visible and clear statement of policy to date.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/education_law/2015/10/federal-government-sides-with-transgender-student-in-fight-to-gain-equal-access-to-restroom.html