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Transgender student's suit against school district advances

Posted at 7:38 PM, Sep 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-19 20:44:03-04

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A federal judge has declined to dismiss a transgender student's lawsuit against a Wisconsin school district over its bathroom-use rules.

U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper rejected a request from the Kenosha school district to dismiss the suit Monday. The Journal Sentinel reports Pepper found the student had alleged enough facts to support a plausible violation of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as the Constitution's equal protection guarantees.

The district argued the term "sex" under Title IX did not cover a transgender student.

Ashton Whitaker, a student at Tremper High School, was designated a girl on his birth certificate but began identifying as a boy in middle school. Whitaker sued in July, claiming the district's ban on his using the boys' restroom was discriminatory.