Supreme Court decides to rule on transgender bathroom case
The Supreme Court is taking up a transgender rights case that stems from a teen's fight with a Virginia school board over which bathroom he could use.
On Friday the court listed the case, G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, and said it would review the decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.
The lower court initially ruled in favor of Grimm, but the justices put that order on hold while they considered whether to hear an appeal from the Gloucester County School Board. They have now decided to hear it sometime in 2017.
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Gavin Grimm, a 17-year-old transgender boy, was allowed to use the boys' restroom at his high school for several weeks in 2014. But after complaints from parents the school board instated a new bathroom policy. The policy required students to use a restroom that matched their biological gender or use a private, single-stall restroom.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenged the school board's decision and has been representing Gavin through the legal battle.
In a statement released Friday via the ACLU, Gavin said, "I never thought that my restroom use would ever turn into any kind of national debate. The only thing I ever asked for was the right to be treated like everyone else."
When the news was announced Gavin and his legal team at the ACLU were quick to share the intense moment.
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The #StandWithGavin hashtag has been spreading online, offering support to the high school senior whose case will be heard by the highest court in the country.
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Grimm had urged the court not to take up his case. The school board asked the court to settle the matter now. It said that allowing Grimm to use the boys restroom raises privacy concerns and may cause some parents to pull their children out of school.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Topics Supreme Court
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
