What you need to know:
- A Mat-Su School District policy requiring students to use bathrooms that align with their sex at birth does not violate the state constitution and can remain in place, a state Superior Court judge ruled last month.
- The court also ordered the district to use parent-approved student names in systems accessible to staff, extending a previous ruling intended to protect students’ informational privacy.
- The decision concludes a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Alaska on behalf of a transgender student and his parents. ACLU officials said they are working with the family to consider appeal options.
PALMER – A Mat-Su School District policy barring transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity can continue because it does not violate the Alaska Constitution, a state superior court judge ruled late last month.
The ruling and final judgement issued Thursday closes a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Alaska early last year on behalf of a transgender elementary school student and his parents. That suit argued the district’s bathroom policy violates student rights under the state constitution by infringing on their privacy. It was filed in Palmer Superior Court.
An ACLU spokesperson said the organization is working with the family to consider appeal options.
A related ruling makes permanent a temporary order requiring the district to use only the parent-approved names of students in computer systems accessible by school staff, rather than students’ legal names. That order was first issued as part of a preliminary injunction requested by the ACLU and approved by the court late last year.
The “Restroom/Changing Area Use” policy, approved by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School Board in 2022, requires students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their biological sex at birth. It also requires schools to give students access to a single-occupancy restroom or changing room.
The complaint asked the court to block enforcement of the policy and prevent disclosure of students’ birth genders and legal names in school records.
Alaska Superior Court Judge Tom V. Jamgochian declined to block the policy. He ruled it does not violate the state constitution because it provides students with a private bathroom option, according to court documents.
Rather than unfairly burdening the student or forcing him to disclose his transgender status, the court found the district’s policy “serves an important governmental interest in safeguarding student privacy in intimate settings,” the ruling states.
The policy “does not compel disclosure of gender identity, restrict gender expression, or deny access to restroom facilities,” according to the ruling.
The decision did not address whether the district may disclose students’ birth gender information.
Requiring schools to use parent-preferred names is a partial victory, ACLU officials said in a statement after the ruling. That change has already made a big difference for the students’ experience at school, they said.
“The court’s decision to extend the preliminary injunction’s informational privacy protections is an important win for transgender students’ privacy,” ACLU of Alaska Legal Director Ruth Botstein said in a statement. “It is also a silver lining in an otherwise dark ruling for transgender students in the Mat-Su Borough School District. As it has for our client, this bathroom policy will only continue to out transgender students and cause harm. All students want is to be treated equally at school.”
A Mat-Su School District spokesperson said the School Board appreciates the ruling.
“In particular, the board appreciates the trial court’s recognition that its bathroom policy protects the strong and legitimate privacy interests of all students in the district and that the district’s actions were characterized by accommodations, individualized attention, and an inclusive environment,” spokesperson John Notestine said in a statement.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com
