Indiana school district fights back after court blocks rule separating bathrooms by biological sex

 Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has come out in support of a school district that wants to maintain bathrooms based on biological sex.

Metropolitan School District of Martinsville filed an appeal on August 24 after a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed its decision to "preserve the autonomy of school boards to make decisions." 

Fox News reported that a lower court's previous ruling decided that Martinsville and the Vigo County School Corporation must allow students to use the bathroom that reflects their gender identity. The decision came after students filed lawsuits in 2021.

Rokita suggested there was something more sinister at work than just allowing students to use the bathroom of their choosing. "This is about dividing children from their parents," he said. "It's a lot more than just bathrooms and locker rooms."

The lawsuit mentioned that some of the students were medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and that they should be able to use the bathroom that reflects their condition. The report made mention of twin 15-year-old students from the Vigo County School Corporation who said gender dysphoria and a disruptive colon condition that affects their ability to use the bathroom should permit them access into male rest areas. 

The appeal also mentioned a 13-year-old boy "who lives with his mother M.C. in Martinsville, Indiana. A.C. is transgender and has identified as a boy since he was about eight years old. He socially transitioned when he was nine, meaning he began going by a male name, using male pronouns, and adopting a typically masculine haircut and clothing. He has never wavered from this identity since his social transition."

Ken Falk, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, said that "[s]tudents who are denied access to the appropriate facilities are caused both serious emotional and physical harm as they are denied recognition of who they are. They will often avoid using the restroom altogether while in school."

"Schools should be a safe space for kids and the refusal to allow a student to use the correct facilities can be extremely damaging."

Rokita currently heads up a 21-state coalition whose aim is to help school districts pass policies that keep school facilities limited to the student's sex listed at birth rather than their gender identity.

Rokita said: "These issues are much more than just the issue at hand that they're attacking. This is about . . . not just social, cultural war issues. Because all of these issues are rooted in economics."

The report stated that the Supreme Court may need to get involved with such lawsuits in schools across the nation.

Just last month, California attorney general announced that a lawsuit was being brought against the Chino Valley Unified School District over its policy that schools must inform parents if their child identifies as transgender or uses pronouns that do not match their biological sex.