State Sues Anoka-Hennepin District Over 'Segregated Locker Room'

TWIN CITIES, MN — The Minnesota Department of Human Rights, represented by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, filed Tuesday to join the lawsuit against the Anoka-Hennepin School District and School Board for violating the Minnesota Human Rights Act by discriminating against "N.H.", a transgender student.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District and School Board, the largest district in the state, "unlawfully segregated the student from his classmates by relegating him to a separate changing space, based solely on his gender identity," state authorities claimed in a news release Tuesday.

"What happened to my son was not OK," the student's mother said in a statement.

"My interest has always been in trying to make things better for all Minnesota students. The Department of Human Rights and the Attorney General’s involvement sends a clear message to them that they are valued and deserve respect."

According to the state of Minnesota:

N.H. joined the boys’ swim team at Coon Rapids High School for the 2015-2016 school year and used the boys’ locker room without issue. However, during the summer of 2016, the district built an "enhanced privacy" boys’ locker room at the high school, which was entirely separate and segregated from the main boys’ locker room.

In 2017, the district and school board required N.H. to use the "enhanced privacy" boys’ locker room, contrary to anti-discrimination provisions in the Minnesota Human Rights Act and N.H.’s wishes. In fact, the district even threatened to discipline N.H. if he did not use the segregated locker room.

Anoka-Hennepin’s decision to ban N.H. from using the main boys’ locker room because he is transgender was unlawful and resulted in a hostile education environment that stigmatized N.H. and other transgender students, investigators claim.

"Everyone wants to live with dignity and respect. Being treated equally is one of the most important ways that we achieve that," Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated.

"Transgender people, however, are facing challenge after challenge in being treated equally, including in school. I’m proud to support the Department of Human Rights in making sure that transgender folks live free from discrimination."

N.H. and his mother, represented by Gender Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, initially filed this lawsuit on Feb. 25. Involvement in this case by the Department of Human Rights and Attorney General marks the second transgender discrimination lawsuit the state of Minnesota filed this month.

On March 7, the Department of Human Rights and Attorney General filed suit against CSL Plasma. Authorities said that case involves a transgender woman who was kept from donating her plasma because of her gender identity.