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yesterday

Supreme Court Rejects South Carolina Bid to Block Transgender Student’s Bathroom Access

The unsigned order preserves a Fourth Circuit injunction during ongoing litigation over South Carolina's budget-based restroom policy.

Transgender activists, advocacy groups and allies gather at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Feb. 25, 2025, to protest the state's transgender bathroom bill.
A transgender flag waves outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on December 4, 2024.
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Overview

  • The emergency ruling leaves intact an appeals court order from August allowing the ninth-grader to use the boys' restroom while the case proceeds.
  • The Court emphasized that the decision concerns emergency-relief standards and does not decide Title IX or Equal Protection questions.
  • Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted South Carolina’s application.
  • South Carolina’s restriction was enacted as a budget proviso that conditions education funding on compliance with bathroom-use rules.
  • State officials argued the district risks conflict with federal enforcement efforts, while the student identified as John Doe secured relief after a district judge initially denied his request.