The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of an unnamed transgender student from South Carolina, allowing the individual to use the boys' bathroom in school.
On Wednesday, the court declined to take up an application from South Carolina, where officials are seeking to enforce a ban on students using public school bathrooms that match their gender identity. The development is seen as a small setback for the state in its efforts to tighten policies.
Transgender Student's Use of Boys' Bathroom
Despite the order, a lawsuit on the matter will still proceed in the lower courts. It comes as three Republican-appointed justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch, would hae granted South Carolina's request.
The latest development comes after a federal appeals court temporarily enjoined South Carolina from enforcing its law while the case plays out. State officials said they wanted to temporarily lift that injunction.
Previously, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted the injunction at the request of a ninth-grader. The student wanted to use the boys' bathroom, which did not correspond to the child's birth sex, according to Yahoo News.
The student's attorneys argued to the Supreme Court that an emergency pause on the Fourth Circuit's order was not warranted. They argued that this is because the lawsuit centered on only one student, and no other individuals took issue with their client using the boys' restroom.
The legal experts said that no student complained about their client, who was simply known as John Doe in the documents, sharing the boys' restrooms with other male students. They added that the transgender student had dressed and presented as a boy since he was younger.
South Carolina's Legal Efforts
The student's parents sued on his behalf, arguing that the measures of the state violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. They said the legislation requires that the laws apply equally to everyone, NBC News reported.
The issue started after South Carolina enacted the law in its 2024-25 budget appropriations bill and once more in its 2025-26 bill. The student's parents pulled their child out of school during the 2024-25 school year after he was suspended for using the boys' bathroom at school.
School officials reportedly suggested that the transgender student could face expulsion if he continued to use the male restroom at school. The child's attorneys also noted that South Carolina has failed to identify a "single concrete injury it would suffer" if the Fourth Circuit's order were left in place for now, as per the SCOTUS Blog.
