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There is a battle afoot in the United States regarding the right of transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identities. To say the law is unsettled in this area is an understatement. Almost half of the states have lawsuits against the federal government over this issue and there have been, and continue to be, numerous lawsuits between students and school districts. In addition to being unsettled, the law is constantly evolving as policies change and new legal challenges are filed and decided. This article provides an overview of the current state of the primary laws affecting transgender students, using the case of Gavin Grimm as a roadmap. Grimm is a transgender Virginia teen, whose lawsuit challenging his school district's bathroom policy was the first case to make its way to the United States Supreme Court. The primary legal challenges to school bathroom policies will be discussed, including the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title IX of the Education Act of 1972. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: [email protected] Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2017 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]
KEYWORDS: Transgender, Gender, Sex, Bathrooms, Discrimination, Education.
Legal battles over restrooms are nothing new in the United States. In fact, legal struggles regarding bathroom use have a curiously long and storied history.
The American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s put an end to racially segregated bathrooms and increased recognition of the needs of individuals with physical disabilities led to the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, which sets forth requirements for accessible restrooms. Now, with increased awareness of LGBTQ issues, and with progress being made in areas of discrimination and same-sex marriage, there is increased focus on the "T" in LGBTQ and, in particular, on transgender public school students2 and their right to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.
Schools are responsible for providing a safe, nurturing, educational environment for all students, and many schools have taken steps to address the needs of transgender students. However, school administrators often find themselves caught in a struggle to satisfy the needs and concerns of students, parents, and community, while trying to comply with the legal requirements.
Some schools...