Bathroom bills on trial: the Supreme Court has agreed to hear its first case on transgender rights.

• Author: Kralik, Joellen
• Position: CIVIL RIGHTS

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear its first transgender case. At its center is Gavin Grimm, a high school student who has been battling with his local school board in Glouster, Virginia, for the right to use the boys' bathroom.

Although Grimm's birth certificate lists him as female, he says he never imagined he "would grow up to be a woman." Grimm told his family he was transgender in middle school, and during the fall of his sophomore year of high school, he changed his name and his school records to reflect that he was a boy.

With permission from school administrators, Grimm used the boys' bathroom for seven weeks without incident, until the local school board adopted a policy requiring students to use bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex rather than their gender identity.

Grimm filed a lawsuit alleging the policy discriminates against him and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibit sex discrimination in public schools. Title IX guidelines specifically protect students from discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

In April 2016, a panel of U.S. Appeals Court judges sided with Grimm. The school board then appealed the decision, and now the case is on the Supreme Court docket.

Being Transgender

Almost 60 percent of transgender students say they have been denied access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The advocacy group also found that students who experienced higher levels of discrimination because of their gender expression were more than three times as likely to have missed school in the past month as those who had not. They also had lower GPAs than their peers.

The Obama administration's position was that barring transgender students from bathrooms is a violation of Title IX. Last year, the Department of Education penned a "Dear Colleague" letter to all public schools reminding them of their Title IX obligations regarding transgender students. In order to receive federal funding, the letter reminded them that schools must provide a safe and nondiscriminatory environment; use names and pronouns consistent with students' gender identities; ensure access to sex-segregated activities and facilities based on students' gender identities; and protect students' privacy.

Officials from at least 24 states are challenging the legality of the Obama...