Virginia

Va. School Board to Appeal Transgender Bathroom Ruling

The decision is binding on the five states of the Fourth Circuit, including North Carolina

A federal appeals court said a Virginia county school board's decision to bar schools from allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity violated federal law, NBC News reports.

Gavin Grimm, 16, was born female but identifies as male, underwent hormone therapy, and legally changed his name. While his school let him use the boys' bathrooms, the Gloucester County School Board decided the school did not have authority to make that accommodation.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that board violated Title IX, the provision of a federal law that bars sex discrimination. The board says it will appeal to the full appeals court.

That decision establishes legal precedent in all five states of the 4th Circuit, including North Carolina, which on April 1 passed a bill forcing people to use bathrooms that corresponds to the sex they were born with.

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