Supreme Court Allows Transgender Student to Use Boys' Restroom in South Carolina Case
The Supreme Court allowed a transgender student to use the boys' restroom at a South Carolina school, denying an emergency request. A lawsuit challenging the state's policy on Equal Protection and Title IX proceeds.
Overview
- A transgender student and their parents initiated a lawsuit challenging a state's restroom policy in South Carolina, alleging violations of the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX.
- The Supreme Court issued a decision allowing the transgender student to continue using the boys' restroom at their South Carolina school, at least for the time being.
- The Court denied an emergency request that sought to block the lower court's order, effectively upholding the student's current restroom access.
- The Supreme Court also declined to review the broader decision regarding the transgender student's restroom usage, indicating the case's ongoing legal status.
- Three conservative Supreme Court justices desired to grant the emergency request, which would have blocked the lower court's order allowing the student to use the boys' restroom.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources cover this story neutrally, focusing on factual reporting of the Supreme Court's interim decision regarding a transgender student's bathroom use. They present the legal arguments from both the state and the student's advocates, along with the dissenting justices' views, without employing loaded language or taking a definitive stance.
"Today's decision from the Supreme Court reaffirms what we all know to be true: Contrary to South Carolina's insistence, trans students are not emergencies."
CBS News"the group is thrilled the teen can use the boys' restroom as his case continues and hopes the decision "will provide hope to other trans students and their families during these difficult times.""
USA TODAY"The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by South Carolina officials to bar a transgender boy from using the boys' restrooms at his school."
NBC NewsArticles (3)
FAQ
The lawsuit challenges the South Carolina state law included in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 budget appropriation bills that requires K-12 public schools to exclude transgender students from using restrooms that correspond to their gender identities, under threat of state funding cuts.
The Supreme Court has allowed the transgender student to continue using the boys' restroom at their South Carolina school by denying the state's emergency request to block this access, leaving in place a lower court's injunction.
The lawsuit alleges that South Carolina's restroom policy violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by discriminating against transgender students.
The Supreme Court denied the emergency request by South Carolina, allowing the transgender student’s restroom access to continue, but three conservative justices—Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch—dissented and would have granted the state's request to block restroom access during litigation.
The student was suspended for one day and faced the threat of escalating discipline, including possible expulsion, due to using the boys’ restroom under the state’s policy, which led the parents to withdraw him temporarily from school.
History
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