School district asks Supreme Court to delay transgender case

A school district involved in a lawsuit with a transgender student has asked the Supreme Court to delay arguments in the case until the Trump administration issues new guidance on restroom and locker room use in schools.

Oral arguments in Gloucester County v. G.G. were scheduled for March 28, but President Donald Trump’s revocation of the Obama administration’s transgender directive to schools makes the case’s future uncertain.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Gloucester County, Va., schools had to allow a student who identifies as male to access the boys restroom and locker room, but the court based its ruling on the now-defunct White House policy. That policy threatened to revoke federal funding from school districts that kept boys and girls separated by biological sex in traditionally single-sex facilities.

The new administration called the policy confusing and promised to implement a replacement order soon. In light of the changes, the Supreme Court asked both sides in the Gloucester case how they wanted to move forward.

In a letter dated today, an attorney for the Gloucester County School Board asked the court to wait for the Trump administration to make its policy clear. But that could take time since the White House is still in transition mode, the letter noted.

Ultimately, both sides want the case to move forward. The school board said in its letter Trump’s actions give it even more confidence in its stance.

“The reasons given for rescinding the [transgender directive] only reinforce the school board’s points,” the letter stated. Attorneys for the student, Gavin Grimm, said they, too, want the question of whether federal laws against sex discrimination apply to transgender people resolved—sooner rather than later.

“Delaying resolution of that question will only lead to further harm, confusion, and protracted litigation for transgender students and school districts across the country,” wrote Joshua Block, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.