Attorney General Joins Amicus Brief Defending Student Rights

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced that he has joined a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the rights of transgender students in the case of Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board.

The case stems from a lawsuit against a school board in Virginia over a policy requiring students to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity. In the brief, the coalition notes that discrimination based on transgender status causes significant harm to students and denies them equal access to educational opportunities.

“Our schools should give every child and teenager the opportunity to thrive,” said Attorney General Becerra via a released statement. “Policies that stigmatize students for who they are have no place in our society or in our schools. In California, we’ll keep fighting for the rights of transgender Americans across the country. We’re proud of our state’s strong antidiscrimination laws – it’s time some places caught up.”

Nearly 1.5 million people in the United States — including approximately 150,000 teenagers — identify as transgender. Discriminatory bathroom policies can have a significant impact on the well-being and mental health of transgender Americans who already face pervasive discrimination. In the 2015 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 77 percent of respondents in grades K-12 who were known or perceived to be transgender reported experiencing harassment by students, teachers, or staff.

The brief argues that Gloucester County School Board’s restroom policy only serves to further stigmatize transgender students. Moreover, the policy violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, and transgender status, and concludes that policies that prevent transgender people from using sex-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity are therefore both unnecessary and unlawful.

In contrast to the Gloucester County School Board’s policy, all California schools have been required to permit students to use sex-segregated facilities consistent with the student’s gender identity since 2014.

The California Department of Justice has also been engaged in this case, filing briefs at earlier stages of the proceedings in both May and March of 2017. The Attorney General is also a co-plaintiff in Stockman v. Trump, a case seeking to protect the rights of transgender individuals actively serving in or seeking to join the U.S. military. Earlier this year, the Attorney General joined a multistate brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of the rights of LGBT workers.

Attorney General Becerra is joined in filing the amicus brief by the attorneys general of New York, Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

A copy of the brief can be found at: https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Grimm%20v.%20Gloucester%20County%20School%20Board%20--%20amicus%20brief%20%28as%20filed%29.pdf