US Supreme Court To Hear Transgender Case Of Gavin Grimm

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear a transgender Virginia student’s lawsuit against his school district’s bathroom policy.

Gavin Grimm, a student at Gloucester County High School, alleges the Gloucester County School District’s policy that prohibits him from using the boys restroom or locker room because they are not consistent with his “biological gender” is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. His lawsuit also contends the regulation violates Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits schools receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of sex.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled in Grimm’s favor in April.

The Supreme Court in August issued an injunction against the decision that would have allowed Grimm to use the boys restroom during his senior year. The Gloucester County School Board subsequently asked the justices to reverse the 4th Circuit’s ruling.

“We are grateful that the Supreme Court has granted the school board’s petition in this difficult case,” said the Gloucester County School Board in a statement. “The board looks forward to explaining to the court that its restroom and locker room policy carefully balances the interests of all students and parents in the Gloucester County school system.”

The Supreme Court will hear Grimm’s case against the backdrop of the national debate over whether trans people have the constitutional right to use bathrooms that are consistent with their gender identity.

“I never thought that my restroom use would ever turn into any kind of national debate,” said Grimm in a press release the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents him, released on Friday. “The only thing I ever asked for was the right to be treated like everyone else.”

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