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 The ruling by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sent back
to a lower court a widely watched case weighing protections for
transgender students under the 1972 Title IX Act, which prohibits
sex-based discrimination by schools receiving federal funding.
Student Gavin Grimm was barred from using the boys’ bathroom at his
local high school in Gloucester County, Virginia. Grimm was born a
female but identifies as a male.
After drawing community complaints for allowing Grimm to use the
boys’ bathroom for a time, the school district approved a policy in
December 2014 requiring students to use single-stall unisex
restrooms or restrooms associated with their physical sex.
The appellate court reversed a district court's dismissal of the
student's Title IX claim and said he could proceed with his lawsuit,
which contends that the policy was discriminatory.
 "Today’s decision gives me hope that my fight will help other kids
avoid discriminatory treatment at school,” Grimm said in a
statement, calling the ruling a relief and vindication.
The superintendent of Gloucester County Public Schools, Walter
Clemons, declined to comment.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration filed a brief in
support of Grimm.
In its ruling, the appellate court noted that federal education
officials have interpreted Title IX to extend to transgender
students and said the lower court did not appropriately defer to the
regulations. The decision, marking the first time a federal
appeals court has found such protections for transgender students
under Title IX, could have wide impact.
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"The Fourth Circuit decision is truly unprecedented," said Matt
Sharp of the non-profit Alliance Defending Freedom, which advocates
for conservative positions on religious liberty.
"Schools are going to be told that you have to allow biological
males to share bathrooms and locker rooms and other private
facilities with females," he said in a phone interview.
The court's jurisdiction includes North Carolina, which recently
became the first state in the nation to restrict bathroom access to
an individual's sex at birth.
The Republican governor of North Carolina, Pat McCrory, supported
the school district in the Virginia case. He said he would review
the ruling. “This is a major, major change in social norms,” he
said.
(Writing by Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida; Editing by Cynthia
Osterman)
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