A male middle school student who identifies as a girl filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing his school district of violating Title IX civil rights law, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, by not allowing him to use the girls’ bathroom.
The seventh-grade student is identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit against the Elkhorn Area School District in Wisconsin. The filing also accuses the district of violating the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Superintendent Jason Tadlock told The Christian Post on Wednesday that the school district cannot comment at this time because the pending investigation involves a student.
The 31-page legal document was filed on March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
The complaint states that the student told school officials in the fall of 2022 that he identifies as a girl.
Jane Doe’s family contends that he began experiencing gender dysphoria in the third grade but did not “come out” at home and school until 2022.
After informing school officials of his preferred gender identity, the middle school reportedly placed the teenager on a “Gender Support Plan” that required him to use the faculty restrooms instead of the girls’ bathroom.
Joseph Wardenski, one of the family’s attorneys, stated that faculty restrooms are too far from the student’s classes compared to the girls’ bathroom. He alleges the student experienced “distress” from not being treated the same as the girls at school.
“She uses a traditionally female name, Jane, instead of her traditionally male birth name,” Wardenski said about the student in a statement published by WPR. “She uses the pronouns she, her, and hers, which are pronouns typically used by women and girls. Because Jane is a girl, she wishes to be treated like every other girl at school.”
Wardenski was one of the attorneys involved in a similar case concerning the Kenosha Unified School District. In 2017, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the district violated Ashton Whitaker’s rights by requiring her to use the girls’ restroom.
Whitaker is a girl but wanted to use the boys’ restroom because she identifies as a male. The appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling against the school, arguing that Whitaker could claim discrimination under Title IX.
Attorneys for the Elkhorn Area School District student argue that the district knew about the Kenosha case, citing a July 2023 school board meeting.
