Transgender Girl Banned from School Bathroom Wins Case
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Courtesy Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund(DENVER) — Coy Mathis, a 6-year-old transgender girl who was banned from her first-grade bathroom, has won a statewide legal case in Colorado that might have far-reaching implications for the rest of the nation in protecting the rights of transgender children.
Coy, born a triplet, had been home schooled since last December, when school officials told her parents that she could no longer use the female facilities and ordered her to use the boys’ or nurse’s bathroom.
Her parents, Jeremy and Kathryn Mathis, with the help of the Transgender Legal and Defense Education Fund (TLDEF), filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of Coy, alleging that the school has violated her rights.
“This is amazing because it is not just a win for Coy, but a win for every transgender child in the entire state,” her mother, Kathryn Mathis, told ABC News on Monday. “It’s amazing for all of them and their future. It lets them be who they are. They don’t have to spend their childhood being discriminated against.”
According to TLDEF, this is the first ruling in the nation holding that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms that match who they are, and the most comprehensive ruling ever supporting the rights of transgender people to access bathrooms without harassment or discrimination.
Coy was labeled male at birth, but has always known that she is a girl, which she has expressed since she was 18 months old. Since kindergarten, Coy had worn girls’ clothing to school. Her classmates and teachers used female pronouns to refer to her, and she used the girls’ bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.
In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 informed Coy’s parents that Coy would be prevented from using the girls’ bathrooms after winter break. The district ordered Coy to use the boys’ bathroom, a staff bathroom, or the nurse’s bathroom.
Coy’s parents removed her from school and filed a Complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on Coy’s behalf in February 2013.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio