NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — For nearly four years, Gavin Grimm has been suing his former school district after it banned him from using the boys bathrooms…
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — For nearly four years, Gavin Grimm has been suing his former school district after it banned him from using the boys bathrooms in high school.
Along the way, he’s became a national face for transgender rights. His case almost went to the U. S. Supreme Court. He graduated and moved to California but kept fighting.
The school board in Virginia may finally be giving in, although not in court. It will hold a public hearing Tuesday to discuss the possibility of allowing transgender students to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
“I have fought this legal battle for the past four years because I want to make sure that other transgender students do not have to go through the same pain and humiliation that I did,” he said.
The Gloucester County School Board ’s meeting comes just months before a trial is set to begin over its current bathroom rules.
Grimm said the proposed policy “is far from perfect, but would represent an important first step for Gloucester.” The policy “would also send the message to school districts across (Virginia) and the country that discrimination is unacceptable,” he said.
Grimm has also been expanding his case against the school board. A federal judge ruled Thursday that he can sue over its refusal to change the gender on his high school transcript, which still lists him as female.
Grimm said the unchanged transcript will stigmatize him every time he applies to a college or potential employer that asks for it.
“I shouldn’t have to be outed against my will in every situation where I would have to give that document,” Grimm said during a phone interview from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he moved after graduating in 2017.
