Va. School Board to Ask Supreme Court to Rule on Transgender Bathrooms

A Virginia school board has requested and received a stay in a case involving its transgender bathroom policy until the U.S. Supreme Court can consider an appeal.

With gay marriage settled law, transgender bathroom access is at the center of culture wars. North Carolina has faced public backlash and the potential loss of federal dollars over limits to bathroom access for transgendered men and women. That and other state laws led the Obama administration to affirm that transgender students should be allowed to use school bathrooms of the gender they identify with, but some states and politicians have balked.

The Gloucester County School Board policy restricting students to restrooms reflecting their "biological gender" led transgender student Gavin Grimm to file suit with backing from the American Civil Liberties Union, arguing that the policy violates his rights.

A federal appeals court in April threw out the rule, but the board has reportedly received a stay until the Supreme Court can weigh the appeal, according to Mike Valerio of NBC 12. The appeal has not been filed with the Supreme Court, and it will be up to members of the court to decide wether they will hear the case or let the appeals court ruling stand.

In April, the three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the policy, enacted by the Gloucester County School Board in Southeast Virginia, was discriminatory, according to the decision released April 19. It was a major ruling because it sets legal precedent not just for Virginia but also for four other states in the 4th Circuit -- and one of those states is North Carolina, which made headlines this year by passing a state law requiring transgender students to use the bathroom that corresponds to the sex listed on their birth certificates.

"We therefore conclude that the district court abused its discretion when it denied G.G.’s request for a preliminary injunction without considering G.G.’s proffered evidence," wrote Judge Henry Floyd. "We vacate the district court’s denial of G.G.’s motion for a preliminary injunction and remand the case to the district court for consideration of G.G.’s evidence in light of the evidentiary standards set forth herein."

The national transgender bathroom controversy erupted on the national stage earlier this year when North Carolina overruled a Charlotte city ordinance that would ban discrimination against LGBT people. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law, which prevented any local governments in the state from passing non-discrimination ordinances on their own.

The Obama administration slammed the decision, and in May U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced a complaint against the state. "[T]he legislature and the governor placed North Carolina in direct opposition to federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity," she said in a statement. "More to the point, they created state-sponsored discrimination against transgender individuals, who simply seek to engage in the most private of functions in a place of safety and security – a right taken for granted by most of us."

Last month, the Obama administration directed schools nationwide to provide transgender students with access to facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity.

The battle over North Carolina has touched off a number of other similar fights in states across the nation. New Jersey has weighed a ban against travel to states with anti-transgender laws, as has the mayor of Baltimore. South Dakota lawmakers tried to push forward their own version of the bill, but it was vetoed by the governor in March. Several states, including Missouri, Mississippi, Massachusetts, have considered or are considering similar bills.

You can view the full request for the stay here via the Washington Post.

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