Supreme Court Won't Hear Case Involving Transgender Teen Gavin Grimm
- By
- Carlos Santoscoy
- | March 07, 2017
The Supreme Court on Monday announced it would not consider a case involving transgender teen Gavin Grimm.
Grimm is the 17-year-old student at the center of the transgender bathroom debate.
Grimm's case rested heavily on guidance issued last year by the Department of Education, which stated that transgender students were protected under Title IX. The new administration revoked the Obama-era guidance, saying that the issue was better left up to the states. The high court was scheduled to hear the case on March 28.
“The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit for further consideration in light of the guidance document issued by the Department of Education and Department of Justice on February 22, 2017,” the court wrote in a notice
Grimm is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“Nothing about today’s action changes the meaning of the law,” Joshua Block, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU, said in a statement. “Title IX and the Constitution protect Gavin and other transgender students from discrimination. While we’re disappointed that the Supreme Court will not be hearing Gavin’s case this term, the overwhelming level of support shown for Gavin and trans students by people across the country throughout this process shows that the American people have already moved in the right direction and that the rights of trans people cannot be ignored. This is a detour, not the end of the road, and we’ll continue to fight for Gavin and other transgender people to ensure that they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said that she was confident the “court will ultimately rule in support of LGBT children's right to live and learn free from discrimination.”
(Related: Caitlyn Jenner, Laverne Cox join brief in support of transgender teen Gavin Grimm.)