Date: July 16, 2021

By: Attorney Tracy McGonigle

G.G v. Gloucester County School Board

To begin, on Monday June 28th, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board 972 F.3d 586 (4th Cir. 2020), which involved disputes over restrooms for transgender students. However, by declining to hear the case, the Supreme Court allowed the lower court’s ruling to stand. In addition, The lower court had ruled that a transgender student must be allowed to use the bathroom associated with the transgender student’s gender identity. Overall, this decision has caused many to celebrate, as it is now illegal to tell a transitioned person they may not use the bathroom associated with their gender identity. To clarify, this decision specifically applies to schools in the United States. 

Gavin Grimm

G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board 972 F.3d 586 (4th Cir. 2020): Mr. Grimm has become the face of this movement and has been subjected to a lengthy legal process. In addition, he was born a biological female but began to identify as male after his freshman year of high school. Grimm legally changed his name and began hormone therapy to begin his transition. Furthermore, Grimm, after his transition was discriminated against in relation to the bathrooms he was allowed to use. At first, his principal was fine with him using the boy’s bathroom. However, later on the school board adopted a policy regarding the situation and said bathrooms are “limited to the corresponding biological genders.” As a result, Grimm was prohibited from using the Boys’ bathroom and forced to use the girl’s restroom. In turn, this made Grimm uncomfortable and ready to sue his county board of education. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be assumed that we all want an equal world and to make everyone as happy as possible. We are a strong and understanding nation, that continues to learn every day. Here is a direct quote from Gavin, “Being forced to use the nurse’s room, a private bathroom, and the girl’s room was humiliating for me, and having to go to out-of-the-way bathrooms severely interfered with my education,” he said. “Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials.” Discrimination is illegal. Therefore, we must take the proper steps to assure it does not exist in society, let alone our classrooms. Lastly, G. G v. Gloucester County School Board has helped pave the way for this.