US trans student wins discrimination lawsuit

Two years after filing a discrimination lawsuit against his Minnesota school which refused him access to locker room facilities, a trans student has won $300,000 in the landmark settlement. The student, only known as Nick, filed a 33-page complaint which accused the Coon Rapids High School of “degrading and stigmatising segregation,” and said Nick was deemed “as unfit to use the same changing facilities that are available to cisgender male students.”

Although the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that Nick’s treatment violated the state’s Human Rights Act last year, the case has only just been settled with the local school district, meaning Nick has officially won the lawsuit. Megan Peterson, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Gender Justice, which assisted Nick in the case, told CBS Minnesota that the victory is a big success among the “growing wave of political attacks against the rights of transgender children to health care, education or even to play sports”.

They continued: “Students like Nick need and deserve the same acceptance as their classmates. Instead, far too many are being targeted for discrimination by adults who should be watching out for them.” As part of the settlement, the school district is instituting a policy which will ensure trans students access to facilities which align with their gender-identity, with representatives saying: “The district is committed to providing a safe and respectful learning environment for all students and families including transgender and gender non-conforming students.”