Federal judge dismisses a challenge to Tennessee's school bathroom law

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Tennessee law that bans transgender students and staff from using school bathrooms or locker rooms that match their gender identities.

A transgender student, identified only as D.H., filed the lawsuit nearly two years ago, saying her school stopped supporting her social transition after the Republican-dominant Statehouse and GOP Gov. Bill Lee enacted several policies targeting accommodations for transgender people.

The school instead accommodated the student by allowing her to use one of four single-occupancy restrooms. However, according to D.H.'s attorneys, the accommodation caused severe stress, leading to the student briefly stopping using the restroom and limiting food and water to minimize her need for the restroom. D.H. sued the state and school district saying the law violated her constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause and also Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

In 2023, U.S. District Judge William Campbell agreed the case could continue under the Equal Protection Clause claim but dismissed the claims alleging violations under Title IX.

Campbell reversed course this month and dismissed the suit entirely, saying that key rulings in separate transgender lawsuits influenced his decision.

Specifically, Campbell pointed to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding two Tennessee transgender-related laws — a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and a ban changing sex designation on birth certificates. The appeals court ruled that both laws treated the sexes equally.

“Although Plaintiff identifies as a girl, the Act prohibits her from using the facilities that correspond to her gender identity, while students who identify with their biological sex at birth are permitted to use such facilities,” Campbell wrote in his Sept. 4 ruling. “However, the Act and policy do not prefer one sex over the other, bestow benefits or burdens based on sex, or apply one rule for males and another for females.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ rights group representing D.H., called the decision a “disappointing setback”

“However, we will continue to fight for Tennessee’s LGBTQ+ youth so they can have the freedoms they deserve,” Ami Patel, an attorney for the organization, said in a statement.

The suit was one of the two that attempted to challenge the bathroom law known as the Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act. The second lawsuit was dropped after the child plaintiffs moved out of state.

Across the U.S., at least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from girls and women’s bathrooms at public schools, and in some cases other government facilities. The laws are in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. A judge’s order putting enforcement on hold is in place in Idaho.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, Tennessee has enacted more anti-LGBTQ+ laws more than any other state since 2015, identifying more than 20 bills that advanced out of the Legislature over the past few months.