Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys submitted a brief Wednesday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, urging the court to affirm a district court ruling that permitted Idaho to implement safeguards to ensure the privacy, safety, and dignity of all K-12 students while they are in public restrooms, locker rooms, showers, and overnight stays.
A law protecting children’s privacy was passed in Idaho in March. It mandates that sex-specific facilities, such as showers, locker rooms, restrooms, and overnight accommodations, remain that way in K–12 public schools, while allowing single-user facilities for individuals who would prefer them to be different.
However, in July, activists filed a lawsuit against the state board of education and Idaho State Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield, claiming that K–12 public schools should compel girls to share private spaces with men and vice versa.
Read: Karine Jean-Pierre Calls Border Crisis ‘Not Unusual’ As Record Numbers Of Migrants Cross Into US
The activists appealed after a lower court upheld Idaho’s law, and the 9th Circuit granted them an injunction pending appeal, stopping the law’s enforcement.
“Idaho’s law affirms every student’s dignity and worth by protecting their privacy and safety in intimate spaces,” Labrador said. “Our law reflects common sense and biological reality while being sensitive and accommodating to each unique student. Our state board of education must be allowed to continue its job of preserving each student’s privacy, dignity, and safety and providing a quality education for Idaho’s children.”
“Girls and boys each deserve a private space to shower, undress, use the restroom, and sleep, and Idaho’s law respects all students’ need for privacy, safety, and dignity,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. “Girls and boys are different, and our laws should recognize this truth rooted in biology. We urge the 9th Circuit to reverse its injunction and allow Idaho to continue protecting all the State’s students.”
According to the brief in Roe v. Critchfield, sex-specific areas are required “where students must undress together in locker rooms, share a shower room, or share a bed overnight” in order to protect the privacy and safety of students.
Read: Florida AG Moody, Gov. DeSantis File Suit Against Biden Admin On CO2 Emissions Targets
The brief goes on to say that “those who disregard children’s privacy concerns cannot win their facial challenge because of the obvious need for those laws—as demonstrated by the consequences in jurisdictions that lack them—which demonstrates why a sex-based rule has been in place in intimate spaces since the beginning of time.
Because of these laws’ protection of sex-specific privacy and safety, Title IX includes legal and regulatory provisions that permit sex-based designations in private settings.
Android Users, Click To Download The Free Press App And Never Miss A Story. Follow Us On Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our free newsletter.
We can’t do this without your help. Visit our GiveSendGo page and donate any dollar amount; every penny helps.