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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, America First Legal (AFL) filed a brief in support of the Trump Administration’s efforts to end unlawful bathroom and locker room policies in Fairfax County Public Schools and Arlington County Public Schools. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education, led by Secretary Linda McMahon, placed the Fairfax County and Arlington County School Boards on “high risk status” after determining that their restroom and locker room policies violate Title IX. The school boards challenged that determination and have appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
At stake is a foundational question of law and student safety: whether Title IX, which guarantees equal opportunities for female students, requires schools to allow male students, dressing up as females, to use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their so-called “gender identity.”
AFL’s brief explains that:
The word “sex” in Title IX means biological sex, either male or female.
“Gender identity,” including “non-binary” or “gender-expansive” identities, is not a protected class under Title IX.
The Fourth Circuit’s decision in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board is narrower than the school boards assert. Because Grimm was limited to a student who “consistently, persistently, and insistently” identified as the opposite sex, it cannot logically serve as the basis for broadly applicable locker room and restroom policies that throw open the doors to anyone. In fact, by its own terms, Grimm explicitly did not address the locker room access policies that Fairfax County Public Schools and Arlington County Public Schools now incorrectly claim are required by federal law. The policies maintained by the school boards place students at risk of both bodily harm and privacy violations by allowing opposite-sex access to intimate facilities.
“Title IX protects students from discrimination, not from the natural distinctions between male and female,” said Ian Prior, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “Schools are required to maintain safety and privacy while providing equal educational opportunities. The Department of Education’s enforcement simply ensures that long-standing law and student safety are respected.”
In an uncommon move, the school boards sought to block AFL from filing an amicus brief. Their effort was unsuccessful.
AFL’s brief urges the Fourth Circuit to uphold the Department of Education’s determination that the school boards’ policies violate federal law and reaffirm that schools may maintain sex-separated facilities consistent with Title IX.
Read the full brief here.
Read more of AFL’s amicus briefs here.
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