The flurry of executive orders signed by President Trump during his first few days of his second administration will have a profound impact on K-12 school communities across the country. They not only touch on immigration...more
A Florida public school’s transgender bathroom ban was recently upheld by a federal appeals court, leading to a circuit split that may need to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Specifically, in a 7-4 ruling, the 11th...more
In recent years, the legal rights of transgender students have been litigated in courts around the country. While court decisions have provided some guidance for school districts, many questions remain. This article addresses...more
On June 22, 2021, the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”) and the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (“DOJ) issued a joint Fact Sheet addressed to elementary and secondary...more
School’s Policy Prohibiting the Presence of a Transgender Student in the Restroom That Matches Their Gender Identity May Be Unlawful Discrimination....more
In a major win for transgender rights, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor a transgender teenager who wanted to use the boys’ bathroom at his former school, finding that the school district violated his...more
Gender segregation in bathrooms, which some conservatives have predicted for decades would be undermined by sex discrimination laws, has in fact proven to be a persistent target for civil rights litigation in at least one...more
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on October 8 in three closely watched cases addressing whether Title VII, which prohibits employment discrimination “because of … sex,” covers discrimination based on LGBT...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently revealed the agency's proposal to narrow the legal definition of sex under Title IX, the federal civil rights law that bans discrimination based on sex in...more
When the Trump Administration short-circuited the United States Supreme Court’s review of Gloucester v. G.G., in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had held that Title IX’s protections extend to...more
A law was born. On June 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be...more
On May 30, 2017, on the heels of the Seventh Circuit’s ground-breaking en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech. College holding that sexual orientation is a protected trait under Title VII, a unanimous three-judge panel of...more
In an opinion issued last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favor of a transgender student who challenged his high school’s decision to limit his access to boys’ communal bathrooms. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Seventh Circuit affirmed that a transgender student demonstrated a likelihood of success on claims that his school district’s decision to prohibit him from using the boys’ restroom violated both Title...more
As readers of our Education Law Notes blog are well aware, there has been a lot of focus on the rights of transgender students with respect to bathroom access in educational institutions under Title IX. The rights of...more
The wait for a final resolution of the legal issues surrounding transgender students will be extended as the result of a decision yesterday by the United State Supreme Court in the landmark case, Gloucester County School Bd....more
Today the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not entertain arguments in GG v. Gloucester County School Board, a case that would have been the Court’s first significant opportunity to weigh in on gender identity...more
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance issued by the Department of Education on January 7, 2015 and...more
Last week, the administration rescinded Obama-era federal guidelines interpreting federal anti-discrimination laws to require schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity....more
On February 22, 2017, President Trump’s administration decided to rescind, pending further review, the Obama administration’s federal guidance that requires transgender students receive access to the restrooms and locker...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education jointly issued a “Dear Colleague” letter yesterday withdrawing and rescinding the Obama Administration’s prior guidance letters which instructed schools that...more
On February 22, 2017, one day before briefs were submitted to the Supreme Court in a case involving a transgender student in Pennsylvania, the Trump Administration, through the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department...more
The rights due to a student under Title IX continue to evolve. Title IX prohibits discrimination based on “sex,” which historically has meant that biological male and female students are required to be treated as equals....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Increasingly, courts have held that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity violates Title VII. Federal district courts in Nevada and Pennsylvania have recently joined their...more
On October 28, 2016, the Justices of the United States Supreme Court announced that they would hear the appeal of the Gloucester County School Board's appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in...more