Federal appeals court okays transgender use of boys' bathroom

Daily Dot - In a step forward for trans rights, a federal appeals court ruled  that a male transgender student in Wisconsin can use the boys’ bathroom at his high school.

A three-judge panel from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Kenosha Unified School District violated 17-year-old Ashton Whitaker’s constitutional rights by forcing him to use the girls’ bathroom or a gender-neutral restroom, shooting down claims that segregating transgender students was necessary to protect students’ privacy.

Instead, the court ruled that a trans student’s presence in their preferred bathroom isn’t any more of a privacy risk “than the presence of an overly curious student of the same biological sex who decides to sneak glances at his or her classmates.”

“For nearly six months, Ash used the boys’ bathroom while at school and school-sponsored events without incident or complaint from another student,” the court ruled. “It was only when a teacher witnessed Ash washing his hands in the restroom that his bathroom usage once more became an issue in the school district’s eyes.”

The court’s ruling also provides a clear defense for transgender students under Title IX. According to the panel, transgender people are protected under “sex stereotyping” antidiscrimination claims, as transgender people themselves challenge traditionally held stereotypes of sex and gender.

“A policy that requires an individual to use a bathroom that does not conform with his or her gender identity punishes that individual for his or her gender non-conformance, which in turn violates Title IX,” the court ruled in its decision. “The School District’s policy also subjects Ash, as a transgender student, to different rules, sanctions, and treatment than non-transgender students, in violation of Title IX. Providing a gender-neutral alternative is not sufficient to relieve the School District from liability, as it is the policy itself which violates the Act.”