Breaking: Federal Judge Rules Wisconsin School Must Stop Discriminating Against Transgender Teen Boy

Judge Notes Discriminatory Practices Could Have Irreparable Harm

A federal judge has just ordered a Wisconsin school to stop discriminating against a transgender teen boy. Ashton Whitaker, now a high school senior, sued the Kenosha Unified School District for forcing him to use a restroom separate from all other students. 

U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper, an Obama appointee, from the bench ruled that the school district’s discriminatory practices have caused emotional, psychological and physical harm to Whitaker. In July, when he filed his lawsuit, Whitaker said, “I worry about how I’m going to navigate the demands of senior year if I can’t even go to the bathroom without worrying that I’m being watched.”

“I’ve basically stopped using the bathroom at school altogether, which makes it painful and difficult to get through the school day,” Whitaker added.

As NCRM reported in July, the lawsuit, filed by the Transgender Law Center, alleged that guidance counselors were instructed to issue green wristbands to transgender students at the school to make it easier to monitor their bathroom use.

“For the first time this year, I feel like I can actually make it through my senior year of high school just like any other boy in my class,” Whitaker said in a statement released by his attorneys, Transgender Law Center and Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC. “It’s awful going to school every day with the constant stress and stigma from being segregated from my peers and from administrators watching my every move just because of who I am. I’m so relieved I’ll be able to just go to class, apply to college, and graduate without worrying if I’ll get in trouble for using the restroom.”

The statement also notes that Whitaker’s complaint “alleges that KUSD’s policy of denying Ash access to the boys’ restrooms and other discriminatory actions—including school administrators’ insistence on using Ash’s birth name and female pronouns, the school’s repeated isolation of Ash from his peers on overnight school trips, and a proposed policy to require transgender students to wear green wristbands or stickers—violate Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”

 

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. This story will be updated, and NCRM will likely publish follow-up stories on this news. Stay tuned and refresh for updates.

 

Image: Screenshot via Fox 6 News