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Federal judge rejects challenge to Ohio school district’s transgender restroom policy
Wed, 09 Aug 2023 00:57:22 GMT
Federal judge rejects challenge to Ohio school district’s transgender restroom policy
by WSYX staffMon, August 7th 2023, 1:28 PM PDT
File- Court gavel (WSYX)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — An Ohio school district’s restroom policy allowing students to use their preferred gender identity may remain in place, a federal judge ruled Monday.
In November 2022, a group of Muslim and Christian parents sued Bethel Local Schools, located in Tipp City, Ohio, after the Board of Education changed its restroom policy to accommodate transgender students, citing federal Title IX rules.
The ACLU and the ACLU of Ohio intervened on behalf of a transgender student in January 2023.
Bethel Rulling by Matt Thomas on Scribd
Court documents stated the middle school principal allowed her to use the single occupancy bathroom in the nurse’s office or the faculty restroom, but they were constantly in use by other students.
She described feeling “ostracized, humiliated, and targeted by other students” for using the separate bathroom. She swore in court documents that she held her urine and avoided using the restroom at school which affected her school performance.
Her father asked the principal for accommodation in August 2021 to allow her to use the girls’ communal restroom in addition to the two single-use restrooms, eventually leading to the change in school policy months later.
The plaintiffs argued the change was done without parents’ input and violated Ohio’s public meetings law, violated parental and religious rights, and sought to have the policy reversed with the court declaring that the original policy did not violate Title IX.
Federal Judge Michael Newman ruled against the plaintiffs on each count.
The judge’s ruling dismissed the plaintiff’s parental rights claims, saying “Although parents have the right to make decisions about where to send their children to school, they do not have a constitutional right to revoke a school’s policy on student bathroom usage.”
Newman also threw out the judgment on Title IX, saying the court did not have the jurisdiction to “opine” on whether the district’s policy accurately states the requirements for Title IX.
The remaining counts were dismissed for failure to state a claim and the court declined to rule on whether the board’s actions violated state law.
“Not every contentious debate, concerning matters of public importance, presents a cognizable federal lawsuit,” Judge Newman concluded. “Although the parties, undoubtedly, seek to vindicate what they believe is the truth, the allegations in the complaint do not pass legal muster under the applicable methods of constitutional, statutory, or precedential interpretation.”
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