Florida Appeals Court Rules a Shocking Decision on Transgender Bathroom Ban

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A Florida school district’s policy of separating school bathrooms based on biological sex is constitutional, according to the ruling of a federal appeals court.

In a 7-4 decision, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the St. Johns County School Board did not discriminate against transgender students based on sex or violate federal civil rights law by compelling transgender students to use gender-neutral bathrooms or bathrooms matching their biological sex.

The court's ruling was divided along partisan lines, with four justices nominated by Democratic presidents side with Drew Adams, a former student who sued the district in 2017 because he wasn't permitted to use the boy's restroom, and seven judges appointed by Republican presidents siding with the school district.

In 2020, a three-judge panel from the appeals court ruled in Adams' favor; however, the full appeals court decided to consider the case. Adams started the process of changing from his ascribed gender of female to male before enrolling in Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, a city southeast of Jacksonville.

In the majority ruling, Judge Barbara Lagoa stated that the school board regulation serves the significant governmental goal of safeguarding students' privacy in school restrooms. She contended that the district’s policy doesn't violate their right because it is based on biological sex, not gender identity.

In her dissenting opinion, Judge Jill Pryor wrote that the interest in protecting privacy is not absolute and must coexist with fundamental principles of equality, particularly where exclusion implies inferiority.

Furthermore, it's unclear who would enforce and police such measures. How would you prohibit transgender men from using men's bathrooms?

Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ rights group is yet to issue a statement regarding any of this.

What do you think about the toilet bans?

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