School, college and other closings for Monday

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear a case regarding transgender students' right to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

The justices will hear the case sometime next year.

At issue is whether a Virginia high school student is allowed to use the boys' bathroom. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports:

 and has grown facial hair, sued the school board. In April, the 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit agreed

 that his case could proceed. Gloucester County then petitioned the court, and in August, the 

 5-3 that the school board did not have to follow the lower court's order. 

 he voted to stay the lower court order as a "courtesy" to maintain the status quo while the court considered whether to hear the lawsuit.
Grimm wrote a 

 about his case that was published in the 

 on Thursday. He said, "If you told me two years ago that the Supreme Court was going to have to approve 

, I would have thought you were joking." The column continued:


, "The alternative facility was a unisex bathroom. I'm not unisex. I'm a boy. And there's no need for that kind of ostracization."
Grimm has the backing of the Obama administration. In May, the White House — citing Title IX, a federal law that protects students from gender discrimination — directed schools to allow students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identities. As NPR 

 at the time, "The administration acknowledges this is '

' for some people and says it wants to help school districts avoid running afoul of civil rights laws."
The administration's move was welcomed by transgender rights advocates, but in August, a federal judge in Texas granted an injunction that blocked the policy from going into effect. The Two-Way 


Nina reports that the court's decision Friday to take up the case was "somewhat unexpected, given earlier indications the eight-justice court could be tied on the question."  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Crime, Law and Justice

Laura Wagner

Author

The court said it will hear the case of a Virginia school board that wants to prevent a transgender teen from using the boys bathroom. The justices are expected to hear arguments sometime next year.

Supreme Court will hear case on bathroom rules for transgender students

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox