The Office for Civil Rights announced it has settled a Title IX violation with a South Carolina school district that was discriminating against a transgender elementary school student.
The resolution agreement was signed by Dorchester County School District Two on June 22, according to a Department of Education statement.
An OCR investigation began when the district refused to let a transgender female student into the girls’ bathroom. The district found that the incident violated Title IX, although the district’s policies and procedures were in compliance.
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“I commend Dorchester County School District Two for committing to protect the civil rights of all students and ensuring that all students have equal access to education programs and activities,” says Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights.
Under the resolution, the district agreed to take the following actions:
- Provide the student with access to the girls’ bathrooms at her elementary school;
- Provide the student and her parents with the option of requesting, at any point during the student’s enrollment in the district, that a support team be convened to ensure that the student’s access and opportunity to participate in all programs and activities is not denied or limited based on her gender identity, and is otherwise protected from gender based discrimination at school;
- Revise its policies and procedures to include gender-based discrimination as a form of discrimination based on sex; And
- Provide annual training to district and school level administrators on the district’s obligation to prevent and address gender-based discrimination.
