A school board in Virginia will continue to defend its transgender bathroom ban in federal court.
The Daily Press reported Thursday that the Gloucester School Board has asked a full federal appeals court to review the long-running lawsuit filed by former student Gavin Grimm.
The request comes after two federal courts have sided with Grimm and called the school board's policy discriminatory and unconstitutional. The policy required Grimm to use restrooms that corresponded with his biological sex -- female -- or use private bathrooms.
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A federal court in Norfolk ruled against the school board last year. And a three-judge panel with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled against the school board last month.
The board is now requesting a full hearing at the appeals court. Such hearings are granted less than 1 percent of the time. That could mean that the next stop for the case is the U.S. Supreme Court.
The school board said in its filing that its policy “treats all students equally, and is substantially related to the important objective of protecting student privacy.”
