A federal appeals court has sided with a Florida school board’s policy of restricting students’ use of male and female bathrooms based on their biological sex, thereby barring transgender students from using a bathroom aligned with their gender identity.
In a 7-4 decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Dec. 30 found that the St. Johns County School District did not violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause or the federal Title IX law by limiting the students’ use of male and female bathrooms based on their sex at birth.
“Separating school bathrooms based on biological sex passes constitutional muster and comports with Title IX,” the opinion states.
The civil lawsuit against the St. Johns school board was filed by Drew Adams, a student at Allen D. Nease High School who identifies as male but who was born female. The 11th Circuit’s majority opinion stresses that the school board conducted a comprehensive review of LGBTQ issues beginning in 2012 and came up with guidelines that allow transgender students to dress in a way that is consistent with their gender identity. The guidelines also provide transgender students with single-stall, sex-neutral bathrooms if they don’t feel comfortable using bathrooms earmarked for their biological sex.
“The school board sought to accommodate transgender students by providing them with an alternative – i.e., sex-neutral bathrooms …” the judges said. “Ultimately, there is no evidence of purposeful discrimination against transgender students by the school board, and any disparate impact that the bathroom policy has on those students does not violate the Constitution.”
The St. Johns County school superintendent, Tim Forson, said district officials were pleased with the appeals court’s ruling, which reversed a previous district court opinion.
“The court's opinion was supported by sound legal reasoning and common sense,” Forson said in an email to the Florida Record. “Under this decision, the district will be able to protect all students' rights. I commend our legal team at Sniffen & Spellman P.A. on their tireless efforts and our school board for their leadership.”