A Horry County school in South Carolina has softened its stance on bathroom policy, after it suspended a transgender student for a day for using the boys' bathroom in violation of school mandate.
Oakland Transgender Law Center, which is representing the transgender student, sent a letter to the school warning them of legal action, and telling them that if the school does not give confirmation about changing its policy soon, they would also file a complaint with Department of Education under Title IX which says that schools cannot discriminate against students on the basis of their gender.
On April 26, Horry County Schools released a statement which appeared to be saying that they will let transgender students use bathrooms as per their gender identity.
"The District maintains the privacy of all of its students. The District seeks to accommodate the individual needs of its transgender students in compliance with the law, including Title IX. We will continue our efforts to ensure a welcoming school environment for all students," said district spokesperson Teal Britton.
The teen who identified herself as "R" said she had felt discriminated by the school, when she was followed by a teacher into the boys' bathroom, who did not say anything to her at the time but gave an "exasperated" look. The next day, she was called into the vice principal's office and was told that she was suspended for a day.
"I started having a panic attack," she told CNN. "Teachers should never be following students to the bathroom unless they reek of cigarette smoke or alcohol."
Her mother opted her out of the Socastee High School and enrolled her into an online school.
R was using the girls' bathroom till seventh grade, when some of the girls complained about her using the restroom because of her style of dress. So her family and school administrators agreed to let her use the boys' room.
She had been using boys' bathroom since then. But in October last year, a teacher got to know that she was born a girl, and told the high school administrators about it. In the following discussions, it was decided that R could use nurse's restroom, but it was on a different floor where she did not have many classes, and it took her 10 minutes to walk back and forth from it. So she started using the boys' room again, and was caught doing so recently, which resulted in her being suspended for a day.
"Just let them use the bathroom and don't bother them," her mother who identified herself as Lynne told Fox News. "Don't harass them. Don't single them out. Just let them do what they do every day so they can focus on what they're in school for, which is to learn."
Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled that Gloucester County School Board in Virginia violated Title IX in banning a transgender teen from using a bathroom aligned with her gender identity, which according to the court accounted for discrimination. The decision is valid in nine federal district courts including South Carolina.
