BOISE, Idaho — When the calendar shifted to July, Idaho laws updated to reflect newly passed laws by the Idaho legislature. That includes laws that change how bathrooms are used in Idaho Public schools.
Senate Bill 1100, known as the ‘bathroom bill,’ put into Idaho law specific rules about who uses what bathrooms in Gem State public school changing, locker, and bathrooms.
All Idaho public schools are required to have bathrooms separated on the basis of biological sex, the sex a person was assigned at birth, or face possible civil fines to the tune of $5,000.
In Idaho, a person who spots someone of the opposite sex in a public-school bathroom, locker room or sleeping quarters can sue the school district for $5,000 for each instance.
Bathrooms used by more than one person at the same time now have to be designated for “male persons only or female persons only.”
The law is now being challenged in federal court. A coalition of legal advocates filed a suit on behalf of a 7th grade transgender student in Boise. The suit challenges the legality of the bathroom law on several fronts and seeks a preliminary injunction to get the law at least paused before the fall semester begins.
Plaintiff A, listed as Rebecca Roe, a pseudonym, is a 12-year-old in the Boise school district. The suit details her gender identity transition from male to female.
“Although Rebecca is now thriving as a transgender girl,” the suit states that her, "mental health suffered in the past before she came to understand her gender identity better and received the support that she needed.”
The lawsuit lays out the idea of SB 1100 being a solution in search of a problem. LGBTQ advocates maintain there are no Idaho cases of issues arising because of a transgender student using their preferred restroom.
Roe’s specific bathroom routine as a transgender woman is outlined as simple and not creating problems.
“After Rebecca began her social transition, she also began using restrooms designated for females outside of school without incident. Like other girls, she would enter the women’s restroom, go into a stall and close the door behind her, use the toilet, and then wash her hands and leave. It was a routine practice that did not cause any problems for anyone, including others using the restroom at the same time as her,” the suit said.
The complaint lays out simply that the law “strips transgender students of equal access to communal facilities, and subjects them to profound harm—in the name of protecting non-transgender students from privacy and safety harms that do not exist.”
The suit identifies Title IX violations as well as violations under the equal protection clause of the U.S. constitution.
I reached out to Idaho’s Attorney General for their reaction to the suit. A spokesperson tells me: “While we don’t comment on pending litigation, our office is always prepared to vigorously defend the constitutionality of statutes duly passed by the legislature.”
Supporters of the bathroom bill highlight the fact that SB 1100 never uses the phrase ‘transgender’ while describing the law. Students that do not wish to use a restroom that matches their biological sex are supposed to be given other accommodations by the school. Advocates of the law say they believe that provision is a fair middle ground to allow students to use a restroom in private.
However, the lawsuit points out an issue with that solution because it could amount to the forced outing of a student. The legal team representing Rebecca sent KTVB the following statement:
“Everyone needs a safe place to use the restroom during the school day, plain and simple. For many years, school officials in Idaho have successfully worked with transgender students to develop plans for safe and appropriate restroom access without issue. When the state legislature stepped in and passed SB 1100, they disrupted that process and created an extreme rule for all people statewide—one that kicks all transgender people out of school facilities matching their gender identity. This is an incredibly harmful attack on transgender students who are just trying to navigate their school day but now face discrimination and stigma as the price of education. It is unfortunate that Idaho students have to sue for the right to have safe access to a restroom, but Lambda Legal is proud to stand with them as they fight for their most basic rights.“
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