Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board
What's at Stake
Gavin Grimm sued his school board for excluding him the restrooms any other boy in his school would use — simply because he is transgender.
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Summary
When Gavin Grimm came out to his school as a boy who is transgender, his school board adopted a discriminatory new prohibiting boys and girls “with gender identity issues” from using the same common restrooms as other boys and girls. The new policy directed Gavin to an “alternative appropriate private facility” instead. Throughout the rest of high school, Gavin was forced to use separate restrooms that no other student was required to use. That degrading and stigmatizing policy singled Gavin out as unfit to use the same restrooms as every other student. The Board continued to exclude Gavin even after he began receiving hormone therapy (which altered his bone and muscle structure, deepened his voice, and caused him to grow facial hair), obtained a Virginia state I.D. card listing his sex as male, underwent chest reconstruction surgery, obtained a court order legally changing his sex to male under Virginia law, and received a new Virginia birth certificate reflecting that his sex is male.
Even after graduation, the school Board continued discriminating against Gavin by refusing to provide him with a transcript that matches the “male” sex designation on his birth certificate. As a result, whenever Gavin was required to provide a transcript to colleges or potential employers, he had to provide a transcript that identified him as “female.”
Represented by the ACLU and ACLU of Virginia, Gavin sued his school board for discriminating against him in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination by schools. After four years of litigation—including a trip to the Supreme Court and back-- the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in favor of Gavin on all his claims. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the ruling in favor of Gavin on August 26, 2020.
Update: On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court denied the school board's petition for a writ of certiorari.
Gavin's testimony at a Gloucester County School Board Meeting
Deirdre Grimm's testimony at a Gloucester County School Board Meeting
Legal Documents
- 06/07/2021
Reply Brief for Petitioner - 05/25/2021
Brief in Opposition to Cert - 02/19/2021
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari
- 09/22/2020
Order Denying En Banc Hearing - 09/09/2020
En Banc Petition - 08/26/2020
Opinion - 06/26/2020
Supplemental Brief of Appellant - 06/18/2020
Supplemental Brief of Plaintiff-Appellee - 12/11/2019
Reply Brief of Appellant - 11/25/2019
Amicus Briefs in Support of Plaintiff-Appellee - 11/18/2019
Brief of Plaintiff-Appellee - 10/22/2019
Brief of Appellant - 10/22/2019
Joint Appendix
- 10/22/2019
- 09/26/2019
Order Denying Motion - 09/23/2019
Plaintiff-Appellee's Opposition
- 09/23/2019
- 08/09/2019
Order Granting Summary Judgement - 06/21/2019
Order Denying Motion to Stay - 05/24/2019
Defendant's Motion to Stay - 06/06/2019
Defendant's Reply
- 06/06/2019
- 05/13/2019
Reply in Support of Motion to Strike
- 05/13/2019
- 04/16/2019
Defendant's Reply - 04/16/2019
Plaintiff's Reply - 04/09/2019
Defendant's Opposition to Summary Judgment - 04/09/2019
Plaintiff's Opposition to Summary Judgment - 03/26/2019
Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment - 03/26/2019
Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment - 03/26/2019
Declaration of Gavin Grimm - 03/26/2019
Declaration of Deirdre Grimm - 03/26/2019
Declaration of Shayna Medley-Warsoff - 03/26/2019
Declaration of Diana Bruce - 03/26/2019
Declaration of James Loving - 03/26/2019
Declaration of Janet Rainey - 03/26/2019
Declaration of Thomas Aberli
- 03/26/2019
- 02/15/2019
Amended Complaint - 02/15/2019
Order on Motion to File Amended Complaint - 12/21/2018
Defendant's Brief in Opposition - 12/27/2018
Plaintiff's Reply
- 12/21/2018
- 07/20/2018
Defendant's Answer to Complaint - 05/22/2018
Order Denying Motion to Dismiss - 11/17/2017
Reply in Support of Motion to Vacate - 11/16/2017
Opposition to Motion to Vacate - 10/11/2017
Reply to Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint - 09/29/2017
Memo in Opposition to Motion to Dismiss - 08/11/2017
Amended Complaint - 07/01/2016
G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board - Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant's Motion for Stay - 07/22/2015
G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board - Defendant's Reply Brief In Support of Motion to Dismiss - 07/13/2015
G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board - Plaintiff's Reply In Support of Preliminary Injunction - 06/11/2015
G.G. v. Gloucester - Complaint
- 08/11/2017
Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal - 06/02/2017
Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board - Supplemental Reply Brief of Plaintiff-Appellant - 06/02/2017
Gavin Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board - Supplemental Reply Brief of Defendant-Appellee - 05/15/2017
Amicus Briefs in Support of Plaintiff-Appellant - 05/15/2017
Amicus Briefs in Support of Defendant-Appellee
- 03/01/2017
Amicus Briefs in Support of Respondent - 01/24/2017
Motion for Divided Argument - 01/18/2017
Lodging of Non-Record Material - 01/09/2017
Amicus Briefs in Support of Petitioner - 01/06/2017
Amicus Briefs in Support of Neither Party - 09/27/2016
Amicus Briefs in Support of School Board Petition - 09/26/2016
Gloucester County School Board v. G.G - Reply in Support of Petition for A Writ of Certiorari - 09/13/2016
Gloucester County School Board v. G.G - Brief in Opposition to Petition for A Writ of Certiorari
- 07/06/2016
G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board - Emergency Motion of Appellant for Stay Pending Appeal - 11/30/2015
Amicus Briefs in Support of Defendant - 10/28/2015
Amicus Briefs in Support of Plaintiff
Press Releases
Gloucester County School Board to Pay $1.3 Million to Resolve Gavin Grimm’s Case
Supreme Court Allows Gavin Grimm’s Victory to Stand
ACLU Responds to Gloucester County School Board Taking Gavin Grimm’s Case Back to the Supreme Court
Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Again Rules in Favor of Gavin Grimm
ACLU Comment on District Court Ruling in Favor of Gavin Grimm
Federal Court Sides with Gavin Grimm, Affirming that Federal Law Protects Transgender Students
News & Commentary
A Court Ruling in Gavin Grimm’s Case Is a Very Big Deal
This Court Decision in the Gavin Grimm Case Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes
Texas Looking to Follow North Carolina’s Shameful Lead in Targeting Transgender People
Medical Associations, School Administrators, and More Submit Briefs to the Supreme Court in Support of Transgender Student
