Supreme Court Returns Transgender Bathroom Case

The Supreme Court has passed a case of a transgendered high school student on bathroom access back to a lower court without ruling.

The case was sent back Monday to the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in state of Virginia, the same court that last year ruled in favor of the student.

High school student Gavin Grimm had sued the Gloucester County School Board for the right to use the public school's boys bathroom.  Grimm, who was born female, but identifies as male, argued the school's denial of his request violates federal anti-discrimination law and the Constitution's equal protection guarantee.

Although Grimm won an appeals court order allowing him to use the boys' bathroom, the Supreme Court put it on hold last August, before the school year began.

The Supreme Court decision means Grimm will probably graduate with the issue unresolved and his ability to use the boys' bathroom blocked.

The new Trump administration has revoked federal guidelines issued in May 2016 by the Obama administration that let transgender students use restrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity rather than the gender listed for them at birth.  The Trump guidelines allow states to decide the issue.

Obama's guidance followed a heated debate around transgender issues, specifically in public bathrooms, after the state of North Carolina passed a law that required people to use public bathrooms corresponding to their gender at birth.