A federal appeals court has issued a temporary injunction blocking the enforcement of Idaho’s controversial anti-transgender school restroom law, Senate Bill 1100. This law, signed by Republican Governor Brad Little earlier this year, sought to prevent transgender students in public and charter schools from using multi-occupancy restrooms and changing rooms that align with their gender identity. Instead, it mandated that all such facilities be designated for “male persons only or female persons only.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in response to a suit filed by Lambda Legal on behalf of a seventh-grade transgender student and the LGBTQ+ student organization Sexuality and Gender Alliance, granted the preliminary injunction. This legal battle, known as Roe v. Critchfield, names defendants such as Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield, the Idaho State Board of Education, and the Boise school district.
The lawsuit contends that the law violates both the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The recent appellate ruling will keep the injunction in place while the court further reviews the case, a process expected to take several months.
Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Peter Renn expressed relief over the ruling, stating that it protects transgender students from the harm and discrimination posed by the controversial law. The decision reinforces the importance of ensuring a supportive and inclusive educational environment for all students, regardless of their gender identity.
This development comes after a lower court judge, U.S. District Judge David Nye, declined to extend a stay he had previously placed on the law. Transgender students and their advocates in Idaho now have a temporary reprieve while the legal battle continues.
