Conservatives in Wisconsin are suing to stop trans kids from using school bathrooms

A group of conservative parents and students has filed a federal lawsuit against a Wisconsin school district over its policy allowing transgender students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity.

The case, filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, targets the New Richmond School District, a small system near the Minnesota border. The plaintiffs, organized as New Richmond Parents for Strong Schools, argue the district’s policy violates Title IX, the federal law that bars sex-based discrimination in education.

In their complaint, the group frames the issue as one of privacy and longstanding norms. They argue that schools have historically maintained separate facilities to protect what they describe as “bodily privacy” in “intimate spaces,” and contend the district has departed from that framework by allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.

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The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction that would require the district to restrict bathrooms and locker rooms based on sex assigned at birth, along with a declaration that the current policy violates both Title IX and the Constitution.

Bathroom access remains a major concern for transgender and gender-expansive students. According to Glisten’s (formerly GLSEN) 2025 School Climate Survey, 41 percent were stopped or punished for using bathrooms aligned with their gender, and 64 percent avoided school bathrooms altogether.

The dispute has been building for months in New Richmond, a community of about 11,000 residents, according to Minnesota Lawyer. At school board meetings earlier this year, some parents raised concerns about shared facilities, while other students spoke in support of the policy, describing a school climate in which transgender classmates feel increasingly targeted and isolated.

The U.S. Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation into the district in March, examining the same policy now at issue in the lawsuit. In a March 5 press release, the U.S. Department of Education said its Office for Civil Rights opened a directed Title IX probe into the New Richmond School District based on reports that it allows students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity. The agency said it will determine whether the district violated federal law by permitting access to “intimate facilities” based on gender identity.

School officials have said they are complying with current law and balancing competing obligations. In a prior statement, the district said it is committed to student safety and to maintaining a learning environment that meets its legal responsibilities, Minnesota Lawyer reports.

Since taking office in 2025, the Trump administration has moved to roll back the Biden administration’s interpretation of Title IX, which had extended sex discrimination protections to include gender identity. An executive order signed on the president’s first day in office directed federal agencies to define sex strictly as male or female based on assignment at birth and to rescind policies that recognized gender identity. The Education Department has since returned to earlier Title IX rules and has begun unwinding enforcement actions and agreements that required schools to accommodate transgender students, including policies related to bathroom access.

The lawsuit comes as battles over transgender students’ access to school facilities continue nationwide. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking at least 517 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in state legislatures this year, including about 60 measures specifically targeting school bathrooms and locker rooms. Those proposals, often referred to as “school facilities bans,” are among the most persistent and politically charged pieces of the broader legislative push.