Duval School Board sued over bathroom policy

Another day, another story about public school bathrooms from Northeast Florida.

On Monday, Duval County’s school superintendent, Nikolai Vitti, discussed the “fear factor” from some parents and students, relative to transgender students using the bathrooms of their choice, a policy supported and accommodated by Duval County Public Schools.

On Tuesday, Vitti, along with the school district and the members of the Duval County School Board, achieved co-defendant status in a lawsuit attacking that policy.

The suit was filed by Wes White, a Republican candidate for state attorney, on behalf of plaintiff Wryshona Isaac and her four children, all of whom attend Duval County schools.

The plaintiff “seeks declaratory and injunctive relief against Defendants for adopting and establishing a policy of allowing students an unfettered right to use the bathroom or changing facility of their choice based on ‘gender identity,’ [which] denies her children a safe and supportive environment.”

White’s filing cites a joint letter from the Department of Justice and the Department of Education, issued last week, “that issued a non-binding directive to public schools that they must allow transgender students to use the bathroom and locker room corresponding with their gender identity.”

White took issue with DCPS accepting federal guidance: “DCPS’s blind adoption as its policy of the guidance of the May 13th joint letter, is factually and legally baseless and a blatant violation of the privacy rights of children. It is an attempt to unilaterally revoke and deny long-established rights of bodily privacy in a manner that is wholly inconsistent with the law, and inconsistent with the provision of a safe, nurturing, and supportive educational environment for children during a critical juncture in their lives.”

White asserts that “no transgender student of the DCPS has advanced a claim that the pre-May 13th policy is discriminatory under Title IX.”

The plaintiff, meanwhile, contends that the policy could impact her children, resulting “in significant emotional turmoil, psychological damage, confusion relating to their own sexual identification,” and could “ultimately distract from or destroy their educational environment.”

The plaintiff seeks an injunction against the “unfettered policy” of allowing students to choose their bathroom on the grounds of “gender identity,” and a judgement from the court abridging such a policy.