INDIANAPOLIS, IND. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that transgender students in Indiana must have access to bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identities.
This case was first brought on behalf of a middle school student in Martinsville, Indiana who sued for such access.
"The overwhelming majority of federal courts — including the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit — have recently examined transgender education-discrimination claims under Title IX and concluded that preventing a transgender student from using a school restroom consistent with the student’s gender identity violates Title IX,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt wrote in an opinion.
Ken Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, issued a statement that says, in part, “Students who are denied access to the appropriate facilities are caused both serious emotional and physical harm as they are denied recognition of who they are.”
The federal appeals court decision noted the U.S. Supreme Court will likely, at some point, weigh in on the issue.
“Litigation over transgender rights is occurring all over the country, and we assume that at some point the Supreme Court will step in with more guidance than it has furnished so far,” the opinion said.
Although Indiana doesn't have any current laws restricting bathroom access for transgender students, nearly a dozen other states have enacted such laws, including North Dakota, Florida and Kansas.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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