Supreme Court to Rule in Transgender Access Case

Supreme Court to Rule in Transgender Access Case

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Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday entered the intense national debate over transgender rights, announcing that it would decide whether a transgender boy may use the boys’ bathroom in a Virginia high school.

The legal question in the case is whether the Obama administration was entitled to interpret a regulation under Title IX, a 1972 law that bans discrimination “on the basis of sex” in schools that receive federal money, as banning discrimination based on gender identity.

Last year, the federal Department of Education said schools “generally must treat transgender students consistent with their gender identity.” In May, the department issued a more general directive that said schools may lose federal money if they discriminate against transgender students.

The case before the Supreme Court concerns Gavin Grimm, who was designated female at birth but identifies as a male. He attends Gloucester High School in southeastern Virginia.

For a time, school administrators allowed Mr. Grimm to use the boys’ bathroom, but the local school board later adopted a policy that required students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms for their “corresponding biological genders.” The board added that “students with gender identity issues” would be allowed to use private bathrooms.