A transgender first grader has won her
bias complaint against a Colorado school district.
The Colorado Civil Rights Division ruled in favor of six-year-old Coy Mathis, saying in a
sharply worded ruling that Fountain-Fort Carson School District
discriminated against Coy when it refused to allow her to use the girls'
bathroom.
“Schools should not discriminate
against their students, and we are thrilled that Coy can return to
school and put this behind her,” said Kathryn Mathis, Coy's mother.
“All we ever wanted was for Coy's school to treat her the same as
other little girls. We are extremely happy that she now will be
treated equally.”
Division director Steven Chavez wrote
in the decision that not allowing Coy access to the bathroom she
identified with was “severe and pervasive treatment” which
“creates an environment that is objectively and subjectively
hostile, intimidating and offensive.”
Last December, Jeremy and Kathryn
Mathis were told that their daughter Coy could no longer use the
girls' bathroom that she had been using for the past year at
Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain. Coy was told she could use
the nurse's bathroom, a staff bathroom used by adults, or the boys'
bathroom.
The Mathises pulled Coy from school and
filed their complaint in February.
Michael D. Silverman, the executive
director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, which
filed the complaint on behalf of the Mathises, applauded the
decision.
“This ruling sends a loud and clear
message that transgender students may not be targeted for
discrimination and that they must be treated equally in school,”
Silverman said. “It is a victory for Coy and a triumph for
fairness.”