http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2017/02/27/Federa...

Post-Gazette.com
Federal judge: Bathroom choice a decision for Pine-Richland transgender students
February 27, 2017 6:10 PM
By Torsten Ove / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A federal judge today said three transgender students at Pine-Richland High can use the bathroom of their choice.

U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak granted an injunction request brought by the students and an advocacy group that sought to halt the enforcement of a policy at Pine-Richland that required the students to use the bathrooms matching the sex they were assigned at birth or to use unisex bathrooms.

"This is a huge win for Juliet, Elissa and A.S., who will be able once again to use the bathroom that matches who they are,” said Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Omar Gonzalez-Pagan. "The court recognized that policies that seek to erase a transgender student’s identity do not address any real problems, but rather only serve to discriminate and harm our youth."

Judge Hornak said the students "appear to the court to be young people seeking to do what young people try to do every day — go to school, obtain an education, and interact as equals with their peers."

He said the plaintiffs showed a reasonable likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that Pine-Richland's enforcement of its rule is discriminatory.

One of the students, Elissa Ridenour, 18, said she was relieved when her attorney called her Monday with the news. She said she and her fellow plaintiffs can start using the bathrooms of their choice on Tuesday.

"Even though it's such a small win, it really is huge in this respect. I'm very happy and it's a relief," she said. "We still have a fight left to go, but we're not going to give up."