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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMaine court rules in favor of transgender pupil
By DAVID SHARP
21 hours ago
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) School officials violated state anti-discrimination law when they would not allow a transgender fifth-grader to use the girls' bathroom, according to a ruling by the highest court in Maine that's believed to be the first of its kind.
The family of student Nicole Maines and the Maine Human Rights Commission sued in 2009 after school officials required her to use a staff, not student, restroom.
"This is a momentous decision that marks a huge breakthrough for transgender young people," said Jennifer Levi, director of the Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders' Transgender Rights Project after the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's ruling on Thursday.
The court concluded that the Orono school district's actions violated the Maine Human Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, overturning a lower court's ruling that the district acted within its discretion.
http://news.yahoo.com/maine-court-rules-favor-transgender-pupil-165405315.html
mainer
(12,022 posts)Columnist Bill Nemitz calls out the nasty grandfather who bullied his grandson into bullying the girl.
http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_Supreme_Judicial_Court_stands_up_for_rights_of_transgender_student_.html
rug
(82,333 posts)HappyMe
(20,277 posts)Tough shit, grandpa.
Lost_Count
(555 posts)How does a child go about getting "permission" to do this? Do they have to declare it via a legal document? Can they just go ahead?
Does this ruling clarify that part or is that old news?
rug
(82,333 posts)I don't think it addresses the logistics but it establishes the principle that the school must respect the gender identity of the student across the board, from bathrooms to sports.
antiquie
(4,299 posts)From the link:
In this case, in which the child had a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria, "it has been clearly established that a student's psychological well-being and educational success depend upon being permitted to use the communal bathroom consistent with her gender identity," Justice Warren Silver wrote.