Transgender School Restroom Issue Continues to Split Federal Courts

The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear appeal of a decision requiring that schools allow transgender students to use the restrooms corresponding to their preferred identity, as the issue continues to roil federal courts. The Supreme Court declined to review an opinion from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that concluded that a school’s policy of requiring transgender students to use restrooms and gym facilities corresponding to their biological sex violated Title IX and equal protection principles.

The 4th Circuit previously had found the same violations in another school’s similar policy, but the 11th Circuit reached the opposite conclusion. Now, a district court from the 10th Circuit has upheld a state law requiring students to use facilities designated for their biological gender. This issue will continue to work its way through the federal courts, and for now the resolution depends on where the students attend school.  

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