Good news -- the Supreme Court has effectively affirmed a lower court ruling in favor of transgender student rights by refusing to hear a challenge.
A group of parents from a school district outside Salem, Oregon challenged the rights of transgender students to use bathroom and locker room facilities that correspond with the gender they identify as along constitutional grounds, but two lower courts and now the Supreme Court have tossed it out.
In November 2017, the parents, who formed the group Parents for Privacy, sued the school district over its decision, alleging violations of the 14th and First Amendments, as well as Title IX. But the district court dismissed the lawsuit, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's decision, upholding the policy.
The parents appealed the 9th Circuit's decision to the Supreme Court, arguing the justices have "the opportunity to untie a Gordian knot of conflicting constitutional and statutory rights." [...]
But lawyers for the Dallas School District argued the claims raised by the parents were "misconceived" and flawed. They also argued the case was moot, since the student whose request sparked the lawsuit has since graduated.
The Supreme Court evidently did not agree that this was a good opportunity to 'untie a knot,' or whatever, and things changed significantly over the last three years.
When he wrote the the Supreme Court's majority opinion affirming that transgender rights to employment are covered under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Justice Neil Gorsuch explicitly stated that their decision only narrowly applied to that specific question, but that never made sense.
It does not make sense to say that the words "sex" and "gender" only apply to transgender rights under one section of the Civil Rights Act but not all sections. The Biden administration undoubtedly see it that way, too, and their policies will reflect it.
I knock on wood when I even think it, but I can't see a scenario in which even our conservative Supreme Court makes any sweeping rulings against transgender rights. They would have to defy their own ruling from this year to do it and that ruling was written by a conservative justice with a concurring opinion from the conservative chief justice. This specific case alleged that transgender rights violate Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, but the court already effectively ruled otherwise.
And you know what? No one has been attacked in a bathroom by a transgender person. No kids have been violated. Everyone is fine because those are not things that ever happen. The reality is transgender people are far more terrified of everyone else than anyone should be of them. And, statistically speaking, if anyone is going to assault children it's most likely going to be a family member or someone they know.