Joining a coalition of 23 states led by West Virginia, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court supporting the Gloucester County School Board in a lawsuit over Title IX bathroom regulations. A transgender student sued the school board after they were given the options of using the restroom corresponding to their biological sex, a private facility, or a unisex restroom.
The school board argues that the definition of one’s sex in Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, by its express terms does not include gender identity, but instead pertains to biological sex.
In 2015, Gloucester High School constructed three, single stall, unisex restrooms to better accommodate students who seek privacy, but feel they cannot use the facility that corresponds with their assigned sex at birth. The transgender student suing previously agreed to use a separate restroom in the nurse’s office, but then expressed a preference for the boys’ bathroom at the high school.
“All students should feel safe and secure at school, especially in the most private of places,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Schools must be allowed to act in the best interest of the entire student body and protect them from persons who may abuse access to intimate facilities and threaten our children.”
The Supreme Court has implemented a stay of the ruling against the school board from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
This case predated the federal government’s May 2016 guidance letter. The letter determined that Title IX’s prohibition on sex discrimination includes gender identity and that students can use the intimate facility of their choice, regardless of their biological sex. Attorney General Paxton is leading a 13-state coalition that obtained a nationwide preliminary injunction against the guidance letter.