Federal Appeals Court Just Made Important Ruling For Trans Students
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals just unanimously sided with transgender students in bathroom case.
On Tuesday, the Chicago 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that under federal law transgender students have the right to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.
The court delivered a unanimous opinion, upholding a lower court’s ruling that a 17-year-old high school student in Wisconsin is allowed to use the boy’s bathroom, despite his school’s objection.
Judge Ann Claire Williams delivered the court’s opinion saying the school district failed to provide any evidence of how the preliminary injunction would harm the school or any of its students or parents.
“The harms identified by the School District are all speculative and based upon conjecture, whereas the harms to Ash are well‐documented and supported by the record,” she said.
“The School District’s policy also subjects Ash, as a transgender student, to different rules, sanctions, and treatment than non‐transgender students, in violation of Title IX,” she said.
Here is a longer segment of the court’s ruling: “A transgender student’s presence in the restroom provides no more of a risk to other students’ privacy rights than the presence of an overly curious student of the same biological sex who decides to sneak glances at his or her classmates performing their bodily functions. Or for that matter, any other student who uses the bathroom at the same time.”
“Common sense tells us that the communal restroom is a place where individuals act in a discreet manner to protect their privacy and those who have true privacy concerns are able to utilize a stall,” the statement continued.
The court’s decision that transgender students are protected under Title IX to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity is an important precedent in the equal rights movement.
ThinkProgress summarized Ash’s experience with his high school saying, “Ashton Whitaker (“Ash”), now a 17-year-old senior, first filed suit against Kenosha Unified School District a little over a year ago, arguing that the school was illegally discriminating against him by prohibiting him from accessing the boys’ restrooms. He had previously used the restroom for six months without incident before the new policy was implemented. Ash was instead forced to using single-stall restrooms that were very far away from his classes and that further stigmatized him among his classmates. His bathroom usage was then policed, with the school even considering requiring him to wear bright green wristbands or stickers to easily identify him, though it never actually took that step.”
