Over 50 families in America are suing a high school district over new rules regarding the use of school changing rooms and toilets by the opposite sex.
Students and Parents for Privacy have launched the legal case against Township High School District 211.
They hope to stop the Illinois school from forcing girls to share toilets and changing rooms with males.
Threat
The group have received legal support from Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a religious liberty organisation.
I do not feel that it’s ok to have a male using the same bathroom as me
The US Department of Education threatened to remove Township High School’s federal funding if they did not comply with the shift in bathroom policy.
ADF approached the school with advice before the new rules came into force and their lawyers offered to defend the school at no cost if the Government tried to follow through with funding threats, but the school declined.
Very uncomfortable
The students involved in bringing the lawsuit are remaining anonymous due to fears of bullying from their peers.
One of them told ADF in a video how she felt “very uncomfortable” with the new rules.
“When I found out that a male might be using the same bathroom as me while I’m at school I felt very violated, very uncomfortable, very vulnerable.
“I don’t feel that it’s ok to have a male using the same bathroom as me,” she said.
Safety, privacy, dignity
Jeremy Tedesco, from ADF, spoke out after launching the lawsuit:
“Every parent sends their kids to school expecting that the school is going to protect them at the most basic level – their safety, their privacy, their dignity”.
“What we’re asking for is a temporary injunction that will allow the girls to continue to have single-sex facilities to themselves, free from the presence of the male students while the case is pending.”
Widespread opposition
Earlier this year, the Obama administration told schools to let transsexual pupils use the toilets, changing rooms and showers of their choice – or face serious funding cuts.
The administration’s ‘transgender bathroom’ directive has been met with widespread opposition since being announced in May.
So far, more than 20 states have sued the Obama administration for ordering schools to let transsexual pupils use the toilets, changing rooms and showers of their choice, or face serious cuts.
A court order to temporarily halt the bathroom policies at Township High School District 211 was filed at a Chicago courtroom last week.