Transgender high school student Gavin Grimm in Gloucester, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Transgender high school student Gavin Grimm in Gloucester, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Supreme Court won’t say if trans teen can pick bathroom

By Mark Sherman / Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is leaving the issue of transgender rights in schools to lower courts for now after backing out of a high-profile case Monday of a Virginia high school student who sued to be able to use the boys’ bathroom.

The court’s order in the case of teenager Gavin Grimm means that attention now will turn to lower courts around the country that are grappling with rights of transgender students to use school bathrooms that correspond to their chosen gender, not the one assigned at birth.

The appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, and other appellate panels handling similar cases around the country will have the first chance to decide whether federal anti-discrimination law or the Constitution protects transgender students’ rights.

Monday’s action by a court that has been short-handed for more than a year comes after the Trump administration pulled back federal guidance advising schools to let students use the bathroom of their chosen gender, not the one assigned at birth.

The justices rejected a call from both sides to decide the issue in a case that was dramatically altered by the election of President Donald Trump.

Grimm’s case had been scheduled for argument in late March. Instead, a lower court in Virginia will be tasked with evaluating the federal law known as Title IX and the extent to which it applies to transgender students. Lawsuits involving transgender students are making their way through the courts in at least five other states: Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

For Grimm, the order means that he probably will graduate with the issue unresolved. Now, his wish to use the boys’ bathroom is blocked by a policy of the Gloucester County school board. Although he won a court order allowing him to use the boys’ bathroom at Gloucester High School, the Supreme Court put it on hold last August, before the school year began.

“This is disappointing for trans kids across the country and for Gavin, who are now going to be held in limbo for another year or two,” said Joshua Block, the American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represents Grimm. “But Title IX means the same thing today as it meant yesterday. Lower courts already have held that it protects trans kids.”

In a statement relayed by school board lawyer Kyle Duncan, the board said it “looks forward to explaining why its commonsense restroom and locker room policy is legal under the Constitution and federal law.”

The high court action follows the administration’s recent decision to withdraw a directive issued during Barack Obama’s presidency that said which bathroom to use should be based on students’ gender identity.

The administration action triggered legal wrangling that ended with Monday’s order. In essence, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, had relied on the Obama administration’s interpretation of Title IX to side with Grimm. The appeals court accepted the administration’s reading of the law without deciding for itself what the law and a related regulation on same-sex bathrooms and locker rooms mean.

No appeals court has yet undertaken that more independent analysis, and the Supreme Court typically is reluctant to do so without at least one appellate opinion to review, and usually more than one.

Another possible explanation for Monday’s order is that the court might want more of a societal consensus to develop before it issues a ruling in favor of transgender rights, said John Neiman, an Alabama lawyer who served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“What happened today feels a lot like 2013, when the court used a procedural ruling to temporarily duck the same-sex marriage issue,” Neiman said.

By 2015, same-sex marriage was back before the court and Kennedy’s opinion gave same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide.

The court’s reluctance to take on transgender rights now may have been underscored by the high court vacancy caused by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly 13 months ago and the refusal of Senate Republicans to consider Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the seat. Eleven days after taking office, Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch for the court.

Senate Republicans, who hold a slim majority, have scheduled hearings on Gorsuch’s nominations to begin on March 20 and hope to vote to confirm him by the second week in April.

The justices did not comment on the case beyond their one-sentence order returning it to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Everett school bus drivers could strike amid contract fight

Unionized drivers are fighting for better pay, retirement and health care benefits. Both sides lay the blame on each other for the stalemate.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man sets fire to two adult novelty shops on Wednesday

Over two hours, a man, 48, ignited Adult Airport Video and The Love Zone with occupants inside.

Records reveal Lynnwood candidate’s history of domestic violence, drug use

Bryce Owings has been convicted of 10 crimes in the last 20 years. He and his wife say he has reformed and those crimes are in his past.

Lowell Elementary School in Everett. (Sue Misao / Herald file)
Everett Public Schools could seek bond to fund new school

Along with the new school, the nearly $400 million bond would pay for the replacement of another, among other major renovations.

A person enters the Robert J. Drewel Building on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, at the county campus in downtown Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Snohomish County Council pass two awareness resolutions

The council recognized October as Domestic Violence Awareness and Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The inside of Johnson’s full-size B-17 cockpit he is building on Sept. 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett man builds B-17 replica in his garage

Thatcher Johnson spent 3 years meticulously recreating the cockpit of a World War II bomber.

A parent walks their children to class at Whittier Elementary on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett celebrates ‘Blue Ribbon’ award as feds cancel program

The Department of Education canceled the award weeks before Whittier Elementary was set to receive it. No Everett public school had won it in over four decades.

Two workers walk past a train following a press event at the Lynnwood City Center Link Station on Friday, June 7, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Sound Transit weighs possible savings on Everett Link extension

Amid rising costs, the agency could adjust the early design of the Everett Link plan. The proposed changes would not remove stations or affect service levels.

The Washington State University Everett campus on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett allocates funding toward north Broadway bridge design

The $2.5 million in grant dollars will pay for the design of a long-awaited pedestrian bridge near Everett Community College.

Cali Weber, a marine biology intern for Surface Water Management, scoops the top layers of sand into a sample bag that will be analyzed for forage fish eggs at Picnic Point Park on Sept. 23, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Why scientists search for fish eggs

Data from the fish spawning sites act as a barometer of marine ecosystem health.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Snohomish County Council approves North Lake annexation agreement

Residents of the North Ridge neighborhood wanted to be removed from the urban growth area.

Everett businesses join forces to promote downtown nightlife

A group of downtown businesses will host monthly events as a way to bring more people to the city’s core during late nights.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.