Back in December of 2021, a jury found that a Missouri school district must pay a student $4 million after the district refused to allow him into the restrooms and locker rooms that reflected his gender identity. The school district made a statement disagreeing with the verdict and vocalized their search for “appropriate relief from the trial court and court of appeals if necessary.”
The original lawsuit was made back in 2015 when R.M.A. (the plaintiff) was still a child. R.M.A. legally changed his name back in 2010 and amended his birth certificate to reflect his new gender identity in 2014, making the state recognize him officially as male.
Despite this, the Missouri School district denied R.M.A. access to the boy’s restrooms and locker rooms at Delta Woods Middle School and at the Freshman Center. The student participated in the boys’ physical education and athletics in middle school but was allegedly forced to use a single-person bathroom outside the boy’s locker room. This has made him indifferent to continuing physical activities in high school, and he dropped out of sports in the fall at the Freshman Center.
Despite the initial verdict in 2021 that awarded R.M.A. $4 million, the defense lawyers for Blue Springs petitioned for a new trial, with arguments stating that the student wasn’t fully demonstrated of discrimination because of his sex. Judge Cory Atkins overturned the award in 2022.
However, this week, Judge Anthony Gabbert reversed that decision. Gabbert agreed with R.M.A’s case, stating that the district’s discrimination stemmed from the student not fitting their stereotype of what a male should be.
“This is no different than discriminating against a male because he is not tall or muscular enough,” Judge Gabbet writes.
Back in 2019, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the state’s human rights laws against sex discrimination could be extended to those who don’t conform to gender stereotypes, which was considered a significant decision for transgender rights at the time.
This is what Gabbert stressed, where R.M.A.’s sex was male in all contexts. The district says it is disappointed by the reversal and is weighing its options.
