4th Circuit Remands Transgender Bathroom Case

In Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, (4th Cir., Aug. 2, 2017), the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded to a Virginia federal district court a high-profile Title IX case on transgender rights, instructing the district court to determine whether the case has become moot.  At issue is whether a school board policy that required students to use rest rooms that correspond to their biological sex rather than their gender identity violates Title IX or the equal protection clause.  Previously the Supreme Court had granted certiorari, but when the Trump Administration withdrew Title IX guidance that had been issued by the Obama Administration, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the 4th Circuit for further consideration in light of that action. (See prior posting.) This past June, plaintiff graduated high school, so defendants contend that the case is now moot.  Plaintiff says he might still attend alumni or community events at the school.  It is also uncertain whether the school's bathroom policy extends to alumni as well as current students.  The 4th Circuit says that this requires further factual development by the district court. Reuters reports on the decision.