Supreme Court Won't Block Trans Student From Using Boys' Bathroom

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed one transgender student to continue using the boys’ bathroom at a South Carolina high school.

The highest court refused, for now, to weigh in on the matter, instead leaving an August decision in place from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to allow the ninth grader, identified in court documents as John Doe, to continue using the boys’ bathroom while the lawsuit continues. The appeals court had paused the case after the Supreme Court agreed to take up another case related to the rights of transgender youth, West Virginia v. B.P.J., that considers the legality of state bans on transgender girls from participating on female sports teams. Arguments in the case will be heard in October.

Doe, a 14-year-old student, brought the suit against South Carolina and the state’s educational departments last year after being harassed and suspended by school officials for using the bathroom that aligned with his gender identity.

In August, South Carolina had asked the Supreme Court for an expedited emergency ruling to block the Fourth Circuit’s decision.

Six of the justices denied that request, though Justices Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito and Neil Gorsuch noted they would have granted South Carolina’s request to block the student.

“The denial of this application is not a ruling on the merits of the legal issues presented in the litigation,” the order reads. “Rather, it is based on the standards applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this Court.”

South Carolina’s general assembly passed a provision in the state’s July budget measure to bar transgender students from using “multi-occupancy public school restrooms.” The provision notes that students can only use restrooms that reflect their “biological sex” as defined as the sex listed on “the person’s original birth certificate issued at or near the time of birth.”

The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments for several other cases involving trans rights during the upcoming October term, including Hecox v. Little, another case involving trans athletes, and Chiles v. Salazar, which questions whether Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy infringes on a Christian counselor’s rights to free speech.