The Supreme Court. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key.)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 16 declined to hear an Indiana case on whether schools can bar transgender students from using a bathroom that reflects their gender identity.
The justices in a brief order denied a request from a central Indiana school district to hear the case, which centers around a now-teenage trans boy, identified in court documents as A.C., who was barred from using the boys restrooms at his former middle school, the Hill reported.
Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, an adolescent trans boy and his parents filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville in December 2021 for failing to provide him with access to bathrooms consistent with his gender in violation of his rights under Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational programs, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. In an August 2023 opinion, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals found the school district policy did likely violate the student’s rights under Title IX and equal protection.
“We’re thankful the court allowed this momentous victory for the transgender youth of Indiana to stand,” said Kenneth Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana. “This case is about the fundamental right of every student to a safe and inclusive learning environment, and the policy at its core is an affront to the freedom of transgender youth to be themselves. We look forward to continuing to advocate for transgender Hoosiers and their families wherever their equality before the law is challenged.”
Chris Geidner, editor at Law Dork, reported the order protects trans students within the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — which includes Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin — and puts off any Supreme Court review of bathroom bans for some time, likely into 2025 or beyond.
Journalist Erin Reed noted:
“That means that many trans youth in Indiana and in several other states will be allowed to continue using the bathroom of their gender identity, as multiple circuit courts have found in favor of transgender plaintiffs. This does mean that those in the 11th Circuit states, so Florida, Alabama and Georgia, will have to wait longer for protections. But it says that the Supreme Court will not likely not take up bathrooms in coming months.”
The Supreme Court has a track record of declining cases involving trans protections. In 2021, the justices declined to review a ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals involving Gavin Grimm, a trans boy in Virginia.
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