The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected South Carolina’s request to immediately enforce a law that bars transgender students from using restrooms aligned with their gender identity, leaving in place a lower court ruling that protects transgender students in the state.
In a short, unsigned order issued last Wednesday, the justices declined to intervene on an emergency basis, noting that the denial was “not a ruling on the merits” of the case but based on the Court’s standards for extraordinary relief. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch noted in dissent that they would have sided with the state.
At the center of the case is a Berkeley County teenager identified in court documents as John Doe, a transgender teenager who was suspended last year for using the boys’ restroom at his middle school. School staff began monitoring his bathroom use, despite no objections from classmates, and separating students by “boys” and “girls” lines before restroom breaks. Facing harassment and the threat of further punishment, Doe’s parents withdrew him from school and later filed a federal class action lawsuit.
South Carolina lawmakers included the bathroom restrictions as a budget provision in 2024, penalizing school districts that allow transgender students to use facilities matching their gender identity by cutting state funding. The measure was renewed this year in the spending bill that took effect July 1. State officials, including Attorney General Alan Wilson and Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver, argued that the restrictions were necessary to protect privacy and safety.
Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued an injunction blocking the law while Doe’s case moves forward. The panel relied on its earlier decision in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, which found similar policies unconstitutional under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause. South Carolina urged the Supreme Court to disregard that precedent, pointing to its recent decision in United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender affirming care for minors.
Public Justice, the legal group representing Doe, welcomed the outcome. “Today’s decision from the Supreme Court reaffirms what we all know to be true: Contrary to South Carolina’s insistence, trans students are not emergencies,” said Alexandra Brodsky, litigation director of the group’s Students’ Civil Rights Project. “They are not threats. They are young people looking to learn and grow at school, despite the state mandated hostility they too often face.”
Wilson, who is running for governor, said the fight is far from over. “We may have lost this battle, but we believe we will ultimately win the war,” he said in a statement, pledging to continue the legal battle at the Fourth Circuit and, if necessary, back before the Supreme Court.
For now, Doe has reenrolled in public school and continues using the boys’ restroom as litigation continues, marking a temporary but significant reprieve for transgender students in South Carolina.