Supreme Court: School Can Block Transgender Teen From Boy's Bathroom
RICHMOND, Va. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court says a Virginia school board can block a transgender male from using the boy's bathroom at his school until it decides whether to intervene in his case.
The high court agreed Wednesday to allow the Gloucester County School board to bar Gavin Grimm from the bathroom that matches his gender identity until the justices decide whether to review an appeals court ruling in his case.
The case is the first time the issue of transgender bathroom rights has made it to the Supreme Court, CBS News reported.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided in April with Grimm, who argued the policy barring him from using the boys bathroom violated federal education discrimination law.
The school board says it plans to ask the Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision by late August.
"Depriving parents of any say over whether their children should be exposed to members of the opposite biological sex, possibly in a state of full or complete undress, in intimate settings deprives parents of their right to direct the education and upbringing of their children," school board attorneys wrote to the Supreme Court.
A lawyer for Grimm said he and his client were "disappointed that Gavin is going to have to begin another school year being stigmatized and separated from his peers as a result of this policy."
The high court put Grimm's federal discrimination lawsuit temporarily on hold.
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