IDAHO, USA — A federal judge ruled that Senate Bill 1100, a bill that banned transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice, would change the school-by-school status quo and temporarily blocked the bill from going into effect, right before many schools start in the fall.
“The court’s ruling will be a relief for transgender students in Idaho, who are entitled to basic dignity, safety, and respect at school. When school is back in session, they should be focusing on classes, friends, and activities like everyone else, rather than worrying about where they are allowed to use the restroom,” Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Peter Renn said. “No one’s return to school should be met with a return to discrimination.”
A lawsuit on behalf of a transgender student and an LGBTQ+ high school organization, the Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA), was filed against the Idaho State Superintendent of Education Debbie Critchfield and other school officials by Lambda Legal in July.
The bill not only keeps students from using the bathroom of their choice, but it also enables students to sue the school for a minimum of $5,000 if a transgender student, using a bathroom that differs from sex assigned at birth, is in the bathroom with them.
"The lives and wellbeing of our transgender youth in Idaho are at stake, and we are relieved that the court has put this abhorrent law on hold,” Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Kell Olson said. “Transgender youth are deserving of the privacy, respect, and protections afforded to other students.”
The temporary restraining order keeps the state from enforcing the law until a court rules over a motion for an injunction next month.
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