A 16-year-old transgender boy sued the Kenosha ( Wisconsin ) Unified School District in federal court July 19, according to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The district's superintendent was also named in the suit, which alleges that the plaintiff, Ash Whitaker, was discriminated against on the basis of his gender identity. The lawsuit was filed by the Oakland, California-based Transgender Law Center on behalf of Whitaker and his mother.
According to the suit, school officials denied Whitaker access to the boy's restrooms, regularly used his birth name and female pronouns to refer to him and issued to him a green wristband to more easily monitor which restroom he was using. Whitaker previously tried to run for prom king at his school; the district initially refused to let him but later reversed its decision.
"These lawsuits are about the equal treatment of transgender students and making sure they are treated just like every other student in their schools," said Alison Pennington, a staff attorney at the Transgender Law Center.
The state of Wisconsin is one of 11 that has sued the Obama administration for its guidelines on transgender students. The issue has arisen in many Chicago-area schools as well, most notably at the Palatine-based Township High School District 211, where a group of students and their families sued in May, after a trans girl was allowed access to the girls' locker room and restrooms.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's story is at bit.ly/2agnaAy.