Estes Kefauver Federal Building and Courthouse Annex in Nashville. (Photo Credit: GSA/U.S. Courts)
A lawsuit filed Aug. 4 by the Human Rights Campaign asserts that a Tennessee law preventing transgender students from accessing school facilities consistent with their gender identity violates their constitutional rights.
The HRC was joined by the law firm of Linklaters in filing a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education and the Tennessee Department of Education in the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on behalf of an 8-year-old transgender girl as school starts this week.
The lawsuit states that the law, signed by Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee in May 2021, singles out transgender students for “disfavored treatment” and violates rights guaranteed to them under the U.S. Constitution and Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.
The U.S. Department of Education said in guidance issued last year that the policy protects students from discrimination based on their gender identity.
“It is unfortunate that Tennessee lawmakers are using their authority to attack some of our nation’s most vulnerable — our children. These power-seeking politicians will not stop pandering to their base, even if it means controlling which restrooms an eight year old uses at school,” said Cynthia Cheng-Wun Weaver, HRC litigation director. “We should all be inspired by D.H.’s strength and determination to fight for the right to be who she is. She, and all transgender and nonbinary children in Tennessee, deserve to be affirmed and encouraged to be who they are, in all aspects of their lives.”
You can read HRC’s full release here.
