Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies Civil Rights Division (DORA) ruled last week in favor of a first grader who was barred from using the girls’ bathroom at Eagleside Elementary School because she is transgender.
“This is the first ruling in the nation holding that transgender students must be allowed to use bathrooms that match who they are, and the most comprehensive ruling ever supporting the rights of transgender people to access bathrooms without harassment or discrimination,” claims the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) in a statement.
In mid-December 2012, the Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8 informed six-year-old Coy Mathis’ parents that she would be prevented from using the girls’ bathrooms after winter break. The district ordered her to use the boys’ bathroom, a staff bathroom or the nurse’s bathroom.
DORA ruled that Eagleside Elementary School had treated her in a manner that was “hostile, intimidating,” and “offensive.”
Mathis was labeled male at birth but has always known that she is a girl, which she has expressed since she was 18 months old. Since kindergarten, Mathis had worn girls’ clothing to school. Her classmates and teachers used female pronouns to refer to her, and she used the girls’ bathrooms, just like any other girl in her school.
Related Articles:
