The Extra Mile has previously reported on Gavin Grimm’s long legal journey seeking to use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.
Gavin Grimm is a transgender male student who sought to use the boys’ restroom at his public high school in Virginia. The Gloucester County School Board refused Gavin’s request, instead requiring all students to use restrooms consistent with their biological gender or private restrooms and beginning a multi-year legal battle.
In light of guidance on transgender students published by the Office for Civil Rights in May 2015, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear Gavin’s case. However, in February 2017, the Office for Civil Rights guidance was withdrawn. Consequently, in March 2017, the United States Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals’ decision in favor of Gavin and remanded the case to the federal district court in light of the revocation of the OCR guidance. After the remand, the Gloucester County School Board filed a motion to dismiss arguing the Board’s policy of separating restrooms by biological sex is valid under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.
On May 22, 2018, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied the Gloucester County School Board’s motion to dismiss Gavin’s case, finding Gavin has valid Title IX and Equal Protection claims. The judge ordered the parties to convene for a settlement conference. HLERK will continue to provide updates on this matter as it continues to develop.
For your inquiries related to transgender students, please contact Bennett Rodick or Kaitlin Atlas.
