ACLU: Trump action won’t stop transgender teen’s lawsuit

Lawyers for a transgender teenager say they will keep pushing his legal dispute with a Virginia school board to the Supreme Court.

The American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) announcement comes one day after the Trump administration rolled back protections for transgender students, potentially impacting 17-year-old Gavin Grimm’s upcoming case.

“If anything, the confusion caused by this recent action by the Department of Justice and the Department of Education only underscore the need for the Supreme Court to bring some clarity here,” Joshua Block, an ACLU senior staff attorney said Thursday, according to the Washington Post.

{mosads}The ACLU is representing Grimm against the school board in Gloucester County, Va., which barred him from using the boys’ bathroom at his high school.

The school board on Thursday praised the administration’s move, arguing it boosts its policy requiring Grimm to use a separate, single-stall restroom.

“The Gloucester County School Board is pleased that the federal government has withdrawn the opinion letter at issue in its case,” School Board Chairman Charles Records said in a statement.

“We look forward to explaining to the Supreme Court why this development underscores that the Board’s commonsense restroom and locker room policy is legal under federal law.”

The Trump administration late Wednesday reversed protections for transgender students that were instituted by the Obama administration.

The Obama-era guidance instructed schools to let students use bathrooms and other facilities corresponding with their gender identity.

Religious conservatives opposed the guidelines, arguing that students should use the bathrooms that match their sex assigned at birth instead.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Wednesday the Obama administration’s guidance lacked a solid foundation in preexisting law.

“Congress, state legislatures and local governments are in a position to adopt appropriate policies or laws addressing this issue,” he said in a statement.

The change could impact several lawsuits involving the controversial topic, including Grimm’s. At issue is whether Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, extends to transgender students.

Grimm’s case is scheduled for oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on March 28.