Student sues school district claiming pro-trans policy constitutes sexual harassment
A student has sued his school district claiming that his privacy has been violated due to a pro-transgender policy.
The lawsuit was filed against the Boyertown Area School District on Tuesday at the Eastern District of Pennsylvania federal court.
It named the high-school junior as Joel Doe, as the plaintiff who says that he was changing in the boys’ locker room when he saw a student wearing a bra and shorts.
It claimed that the pro-trans policy constitutes sexual harassment and a privacy violation.
“Joel Doe experienced immediate confusion, embarrassment, humiliation, and loss of dignity upon finding himself in this circumstance,” reads the lawsuit.
It was brought by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
ADF’s Legal Counsel Kellie Fiedorek tells the Associated Press: “Our laws and customs have long recognised that we shouldn’t have to undress in front of persons of the opposite sex.
“But now some schools are forcing our children into giving up their privacy rights.”
The district has failed to comment on the lawsuit.
But LGBT groups state that the lawsuit was avoidable, if the student who felt uncomfortable was given the option of a different locker room.
Eliza Byard, executive director of Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network says: “The existence of a transgender person living their life appropriately at school cannot constitute sexual harassment.
“It might make another student uncomfortable and in that case, there is a common sense legal remedy of providing separate accommodations to the student who feels uncomfortable.”
The move comes just weeks after the Trump administration rescinded Obama administration regulations instructing schools to make provisions for transgender students and to allow them to use gender-appropriate bathrooms.
“The actions of our current administration have created confusion and a perceived opportunity to roll back the support currently available to trans students across the country,” Byard said.
Trump scrapped the Obama administration guidance, with his Press Secretary Sean Spicer explaining “certain issues like this are not best dealt with at the federal level” – giving a boost to states that want to pass anti-trans laws.
