The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an appeal in Parents for Privacy v. Barr, letting stand a lower court ruling that allows transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice stand.
An Oregon District Court refused to block the school district’s policy and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling. The Court of Appeals noted that the policy does not violate students’ constitutional rights, nor does it violate educational sex discrimination laws.
The lawsuit was first filed by parents in Dallas School District in 2017. The policy allowed a transgender boy to use the boys’ bathrooms and locker rooms. The parents alleged that accommodating the transgender student violates the civil rights of the non-transgender students who must share the facilities.
The parents’ complaint alleged improper rule-making procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act, violations of the fundamental right to privacy and parents’ fundamental right to control the upbringing of their children under the Fourteenth Amendment, violation of Title IX, violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, violation of the First Amendment, public accommodation discrimination and discrimination in education.
The ACLU of Oregon, which was involved in the litigation, stated, “the decision not to take this case is an important and powerful message to trans and non-binary youth that they deserve to share space with and enjoy the benefits of school alongside their non-transgender peers.” According to the ACLU, courts have been rejecting cases like these to protect the rights of transgender students across the country. In May 2019, the Supreme Court declined to hear a similar case as well.