A ruling favoring transgender students
has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals
earlier this year upheld a Pennsylvania school district's policy
allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a
Christian conservative group representing an anonymous group of
students and parents, on Monday appealed the decision to the Supreme
Court.
In its 32-page
petition for certiorari, ADF asserts that Boyertown Area School
District's policy violates the right to privacy of the students it's
representing.
“Forcing a teenager to share a locker
room or restroom with a member of the opposite sex can cause
embarrassment and distress, particularly for students who have been
victims of sexual assault,” the petition reads.
The American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU) intervened in the case on behalf of the Pennsylvania Youth
Congress, a coalition of LGBT youth organizations.
“Their claim that transgender
students are a threat to others is offensive and not supported by the
evidence in Boyertown or schools around the country,” ACLU attorney
Ria Tabacco Mar said. “Boyertown schools chose to be inclusive and
welcoming of transgender students two years ago. Now anti-LGBTQ
extremists are asking the Supreme Court to rule that local school
districts like Boyertown are not only wrong, but prohibited by the
Constitution from doing the right thing.”
The petition, Mar added, is “part of
a larger pattern of attacks against the transgender community,
including from the Trump administration.”
A decision on whether to hear the case
is expected within six weeks.