equal rights to use the boy’s bathroom at his Virginia school.
Photos: ACLU
The Obama Administration, on October 28th, filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of Gavin Grimm, a transgender male student at Gloucester High School. Grimm filed a lawsuit challenging his Virginia school district’s policy that prevents him from using boys’ bathroom. The teen is supported by two other organizations, NCLR and GLAD, in his quest for equality.
The U.S. Department of Education and the Justice Department Wednesday filed a 40-page brief with the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., on behalf of Grimm, according to the Washington Blade.
The HRC responded to the Administration’s support with the following release:
In response to the news that the Obama administration has filed a brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting a transgender student’s challenge of school policy banning him from using restrooms that comport with his gender identity, HRC President Ben Carson released the following statement: [pullquote]”Today’s action by the Department of Justice sends a crucial message to schools across the country—transgender youth are valuable members of our community who are entitled to full protection of the law. Access to appropriate restrooms is necessary for students to be successful in school. No one should be humiliated or marginalized by the adults responsible for helping them to achieve.”—HRC President Ben Carson[/pullquote]
“Today’s action by the Department of Justice sends a crucial message to schools across the country—transgender youth are valuable members of our community who are entitled to full protection of the law. Access to appropriate restrooms is necessary for students to be successful in school. No one should be humiliated or marginalized by the adults responsible for helping them to achieve.”
Grimm’s suit, G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, alleges that in denying him use of the restroom that corresponds with his gender identity, the district is violating Title IX of the Education Act of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in education.
Administration lawyers in their brief wrote that, “Prohibiting a transgender male student from using boys’ restrooms, when other non-transgender male students face no such restriction, deprives him not only of equal educational opportunity but also ‘of equal status, respect, and dignity.’”
The HRC Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocacy organization, works with many schools that want to do right by transgender students through its Welcoming Schools program. For more information, read Schools In Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students to assist in creating inclusive environments for all.
[Partial Information Originates from a News Release]
