Last month I shared a news item about the ACLU filing suit on behalf of trans teen Gavin Grimm against Gloucester County Schools for banning him from the boys room.
The suit discusses how Gavin has been ostracized from the girls’ room, where others perceive him to be a boy and ask him to leave. He has also found that using the school’s single-stall restrooms actually spotlights him as “the black sheep,” describing walking to the rarely used facilities as a “walk of shame.”
The USDOJ filed a statement of interest in the case
this past week.
[T]he Justice Department argues that the Gloucester County school board’s policy violates Grimm’s rights, and federal officials are seeking to ensure that “all students, including transgender students, have the opportunity to learn in an environment free of sex discrimination.”
[Transgender students] should be able to use the restroom without being stigmatized and humiliated for being who they are.
--Joshua Block, ACLU
The Justice Department statement says that Grimm should be allowed to use the male restrooms at Gloucester High School as a matter of mental health and that discriminating against transgender students is a violation of Title IX regulations that aim to prevent discrimination based on gender.
Until December, Grimm had used the boys’ restrooms for seven weeks without any issues. Then, amid pressure from parents, the school board voted 6 to 1 to restrict girls’ and boys’ bathrooms to students of “the corresponding biological genders.”
Singling out transgender students and subjecting them to differential treatment can also make them more vulnerable to bullying and harassment, a problem that transgender students already face.
Allowing transgender students to use the restrooms consistent with their gender identity will help prevent stigma that results in bullying and harassment and will ensure that the District fosters a safe and supportive learning environment for all students, a result that is unquestionably in the public interest.
--DOJ
The District denied him equal treatment and benefits and subjected him to discrimination based on sex in violation of Title IX … when it passed a policy banning his continued use of the boys' restrooms because the School Board did [not] deem him to be 'biologically' male,' despite his use of those facilities without incident for seven weeks.
Under Title IX, discrimination based on a person's gender identity, a person's transgender status, or a person's nonconformity to sex stereotypes constitutes discrimination based on sex. The term 'sex' as it is used in Title IX is broad and encompasses gender identity, including transgender status. ...
Prohibiting a student from accessing the restrooms that match his gender identity is prohibited sex discrimination under Title IX. There is a public interest in ensuring that all students, including transgender students, have the opportunity to learn in an environment free of sex discrimination.
We commend the Department of Justice for taking the steps necessary to uphold the promise of Title IX and ensure that transgender students are affirmed and supported in school. Allowing schools to discriminate by forcing transgender students to use a separate restroom is demeaning and exposes them to relentless harassment and abuse from peers. The federal government’s position is not only consistent with decades of legal precedent, but also the experiences of many school districts throughout the country that are implementing inclusive policies without incident. As those districts have learned, affirming a transgender student’s gender identity is an important part of creating a safe and inclusive school where all students can thrive.
--Asaf Orr, National Center for Lesbian Rights