South Carolina Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Ruling Allowing Transgender Student Bathroom Use

The state of South Carolina has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that prohibits the enforcement of a law mandating transgender students to use school bathrooms corresponding to their biological sex at birth, rather than their self-identified gender. This legal action follows the Supreme Court’s upcoming consideration of a case involving transgender athletes in the coming months.

In a filing made this week, South Carolina officials cited two recent decisions by the Supreme Court: one that upheld Tennessee’s law restricting access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers for minors seeking gender transition, and another that will decide whether states can prevent transgender students from participating in sports teams aligned with their self-identified gender.

Officials argued that these decisions have effectively overturned a 2016 court ruling favoring a transgender student named Gavin Grimm, who was allowed to use bathroom facilities consistent with his gender identity. Although the Supreme Court declined to hear the Grimm case at the time, its ruling established precedent within the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers South Carolina.

The bathroom ban in question was passed through a series of budget bills and requires that single-sex school facilities be used exclusively by students of their assigned sex at birth. A student and his parents filed a lawsuit alleging the provision violated federal law and the Constitution’s equal protection clause, following which the Supreme Court agreed to hear the transgender sports case, leading to a temporary hold on the bathroom litigation.

However, in August 2021, the 4th Circuit unanimously ruled in favor of the student and his family, allowing him to use boys’ restrooms without facing penalties. Alexandra Brodsky, litigation director for Public Justice’s Students’ Civil Rights Project, has urged the Supreme Court not to intervene in this ongoing case, stating:

“The state is seeking an unusual remedy from the Supreme Court—to interrupt a lower court appeal, solely so they can enforce discrimination against a single student. This teenager simply wishes to use the restroom; it’s a biological necessity, and he has the right to do so in facilities aligned with his self-identified gender under our current precedent.”

Chief Judge Albert Diaz of the 4th Circuit wrote in a concurring opinion that South Carolina’s bathroom ban defies federal law. The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on whether to grant South Carolina’s request or uphold the lower court’s ruling within a few weeks.