A coalition of 22 attorneys general, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and New York counterpart Letitia James, filed an amicus brief in the case of A.C. v. Metropolitan School District of Martinsville opposing the school district's efforts to ban a transgender male student from using the boys' bathroom, according to a press release from James' office.
The student, A.C., was forced to use a single-sex restroom located in the school's medical clinic rather than be allowed to use any of the boys' restrooms throughout the school.
The brief—filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit—argues for the court to affirm a lower court ruling requiring the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, Indiana to allow A.C. to use the boys' bathroom. The coalition of attorneys general note that preventing a transgender student from using a school restroom consistent with the student's gender identity violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by denying transgender boys and girls access to the same common restrooms that other boys and girls may use.
The amicus brief also demonstrates that inclusive policies that maintain sex-segregated spaces while permitting transgender people to use a facility that aligns with their gender identity help to ease the stigma transgender people often experience, with positive effects for their educational and health outcomes.
Joining James and Raoul in filing the brief are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia.
The amicus brief is at ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/a.c._v._metro._sch._dist._ny_and_wa_amicus_brief.pdf.
