California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined 21 of his counterparts in opposing Idaho Senate Bill 1100 (SB 1100), which prohibits transgender students in K-12 public and charter schools from using bathrooms. multiple uses and other school facilities that correspond with their gender identity.
The plaintiffs, a 12-year-old transgender girl and the Boise High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance, appealed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho from the denial of a motion for preliminary injunction against SB 1100. before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The coalition's amicus brief asserts that SB 1100 violates the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX, and outlines the serious harms to transgender youth that result from unlawful discrimination based on an individual's gender identity.
“Legislation that denies transgender students access to school facilities consistent with their gender identity is illegal and seriously detrimental to their well-being,” Bonta said in a statement.
And, he specified, despite the growing attack on LGBTQ+ rights across the country, the coalition of attorneys general underscores the continued commitment to ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all.
"From fighting discriminatory school policies to ensuring gender-affirming care, my office will continue to oppose efforts that seek to jeopardize the rights of our most vulnerable communities," he stressed.
SB 1100 is part of a dangerous wave of discriminatory legislation across the United States targeting transgender children. More than 1.6 million people in the United States, including approximately 300,000 youth ages 13 to 17, identify as transgender.
According to statistics, transgender youth suffer levels of discrimination, violence and harassment that far exceed those experienced by their cisgender counterparts. That kind of discrimination, unsurprisingly, inflicts physical and mental harm.
Thus, the California Attorney General's Office pointed out, legislation that prevents transgender students from using sex-segregated facilities, including bathrooms, according to their gender identity is unnecessary and illegal.
He explained that, in contrast to Idaho's discriminatory law, all California schools must allow students to use sex-segregated facilities consistent with the student's gender identity.
In its amicus brief today, the coalition supported the plaintiffs' effort to block enforcement of SB 1100, arguing that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution by stigmatizing transgender students and denying them access to common school facilities based on their gender identity.
In addition, he highlighted that it violates Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, by denying transgender boys and girls access to the same common facilities that others can use.
Likewise, he specified that SB1100 does not recognize that inclusive laws and policies produce important benefits without compromising the privacy and security of others.
In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joined the attorneys general of New York, Washington, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina North, Oregon and Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, DC.
This publication was supported in whole or part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the CaliFornia State Library.
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