Supreme Court Blocks Trans Student From Using Boys Restroom

Seventeen-year-old Gavin Grimm will start his senior year of high school once again banned from using the boys restroom, the AP reports. In a 5-3 decision on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court put a hold on the decision of a lower court that would have allowed Grimm, a transgender male, to use the boys restroom at his school in Virginia. According to the Los Angeles Times, an appeals court ruled in April that the school board was in violation of Title IX when it barred Grimm from the boys restroom. Grimm's lawyer says the Supreme Court's decision means Grimm will continue to be "stigmatized and isolated from the rest of his peers just because he is transgender."

However, Politico reports it's likely the Supreme Court will hear Grimm's case when it reconvenes in the fall. And that's good news for Grimm and transgender students like him: A hearing on the issue will probably result in a 4-4 tie, which will uphold the appeals court's earlier ruling and allow Grimm to use the boys restroom—albeit months from now, according to the Times. The appeals court's ruling will also be upheld if the Supreme Court decides not to hear the case. Grimm used the boys restroom for a few weeks in 2014 until a number of parents complained. The Virginia school board says it wants to "protect the basic expectations of bodily privacy." (More transgender stories.)