A federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law requiring public school pupils to use the restroom corresponding to their assigned sex at birth, in a lawsuit brought by the family of a transgender middle school student.
US district judge David Nye said his temporary restraining order on Thursday did not weigh on the merits of the case, but said preserving the status quo at least until he could consider it more fully at a September 13 hearing was “the most fitting approach at the current juncture”.
“The court's ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho, who are entitled to basic dignity, safety and respect at school,” Peter Renn of Lambda Legal, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said.
The office of Idaho attorney-general Raul Labrador said it looked forward to making its case at the upcoming hearing.
The pupil's family and a pupil's association sued the state last month. They said the state law, signed by Republican governor Brad Little in March, illegally discriminates on the basis of gender identity and violates students' right to privacy.
Republican-led states have passed numerous bills targeting transgender youth in the last two years, including what are called “bathroom bills” like Idaho's and bans on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors.
Idaho's bathroom bill allows students to sue schools for $5,000 (R94,763) if they encounter a transgender pupil in a bathroom the law forbids. That effectively puts a “bounty” on such pupils and encourages others to search them out, the lawsuit said.
The new law says schools must provide a “reasonable accommodation” for transgender pupils unwilling or unable to use their assigned bathroom. The lawsuit alleges such alternate accommodations are “often inferior to the facilities used by others, located in less accessible locations, and stigmatising for them to use”.
Federal courts have been divided on school policies requiring transgender pupils to use the restroom corresponding to their birth sex, with the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals finding a Virginia school's policy illegal, and the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit upholding one in a Florida school.
Reuters
Court blocks Idaho law restricting trans pupils' restroom use
Image: 123RF/Karen Roach
A federal judge temporarily blocked an Idaho law requiring public school pupils to use the restroom corresponding to their assigned sex at birth, in a lawsuit brought by the family of a transgender middle school student.
US district judge David Nye said his temporary restraining order on Thursday did not weigh on the merits of the case, but said preserving the status quo at least until he could consider it more fully at a September 13 hearing was “the most fitting approach at the current juncture”.
“The court's ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho, who are entitled to basic dignity, safety and respect at school,” Peter Renn of Lambda Legal, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said.
The office of Idaho attorney-general Raul Labrador said it looked forward to making its case at the upcoming hearing.
The pupil's family and a pupil's association sued the state last month. They said the state law, signed by Republican governor Brad Little in March, illegally discriminates on the basis of gender identity and violates students' right to privacy.
Republican-led states have passed numerous bills targeting transgender youth in the last two years, including what are called “bathroom bills” like Idaho's and bans on gender-affirming medical treatments for minors.
Idaho's bathroom bill allows students to sue schools for $5,000 (R94,763) if they encounter a transgender pupil in a bathroom the law forbids. That effectively puts a “bounty” on such pupils and encourages others to search them out, the lawsuit said.
The new law says schools must provide a “reasonable accommodation” for transgender pupils unwilling or unable to use their assigned bathroom. The lawsuit alleges such alternate accommodations are “often inferior to the facilities used by others, located in less accessible locations, and stigmatising for them to use”.
Federal courts have been divided on school policies requiring transgender pupils to use the restroom corresponding to their birth sex, with the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals finding a Virginia school's policy illegal, and the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit upholding one in a Florida school.
Reuters
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