GLOUCESTER, Va. - The Gloucester County School Board filed an en banc petition in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after the court ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm.
The school board announced on Wednesday that they filed for an en ban review, meaning the entire 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges could hear the case and possibly overturn the decision.
According to the petition filed by Gloucester County School Board, the issue for review en banc is whether separating student restrooms on the basis of biological sex, while also providing single-stall, unisex restrooms for all students to use, including transgender students, violates Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. The court documents state, Grimm claimed that the unisex restrooms made him feel stigmatized and isolated, and he refused to use them.
A federal court in 2018 sided with transgender rights activist Gavin Grimm saying that federal law protects transgender students from being forced to use separate restrooms.
In late August, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Gavin Grimm that restroom policies segregating transgender students in schools violates the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education.
The court ruled on a 2-1 vote that Grimm, now a college student, is protected under federal law that bars sex discrimination in education and the U.S. Constitution's requirement that people be treated equally under the law.
The school board's petition is now asking that all judges, instead of just the previous three, review the case.
Gavin Grimm responded to petition for an en banc review on Twitter with the following statement:
My former school board is incredibly dedicated to discrimination. Thankfully, myself and the people at the ACLU who represent me are all incredibly dedicated to justice. The board has requested an en banc hearing, so i look forward to another victory.
— Gavin Grimm (@GavinGrimmVA) September 9, 2020
To view the en banc petition, click here.