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Missouri School District Sued Over Discrimination Against Transgender Girl
Missouri School District Sued Over Discrimination Against Transgender Girl
The transgender student was suspended for refusing to use the boys’ bathroom and harassed by other students when she did.
A lawsuit in Missouri claims that a transgender student was deprived of the right to use the girls’ restroom. She was verbally cautioned and subjected to out-of-school suspension for refusing to use the boys’ bathroom and verbally harassed by officials at Platte County High School, the lawsuit alleges.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a case on Monday contesting Platte County School District’s actions and alleging discrimination based on a student’s transgender status, her sex assigned at birth, and her gender dysphoria diagnosis, Kansas City CBS affiliate KCTV reports.
“Forcing transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their sex designated at birth is not only discrimination but dangerous and causes serious harm to Missouri’s youth,” said ACLU of Missouri deputy director Gillian Wilcox.
“Both through the constitution and by statute the government, a school in this case, is prohibited from discriminating against the people it is supposed to protect on the basis of either their sex or disability,” Wilcox continued.
According to the lawsuit, the student, whose name is only known as R.F., began undergoing a gender transition in 2019.
R.F. alleges that she was prohibited from using the girls’ restroom at the high school and was told by the assistant principal to use the boys’ or a gender-neutral bathroom.
After refusing to use the boy’s restroom, the district responded “through escalating punishments ranging from verbal warnings to out-of-school suspension,” according to the lawsuit.
After she returned from suspension, the student used the boys’ restroom, where a male classmate allegedly harassed her and threatened to rape her, the lawsuit states.
In the lawsuit, the student claimed she suffered from anxiety and depression and virtually completed the last several months of her first high school year.
In a Platte County School District statement, the district said it ”was just made aware of a lawsuit filed yesterday afternoon by the ACLU. The district is in the early stages of evaluating the legal claims. The district’s focus is, and has always been, providing a safe and caring environment for all students.”
On November 3 at 9 a.m., the first hearing is scheduled to be held.
