A state superior court judge has upheld a Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District policy that restricts “transgender” students from using bathrooms and locker rooms aligned with their confused ideas about their sexual characteristics.
The ruling was issued Thursday by Alaska Superior Court Judge Tom V. Jamgochian, marks a defeat for the ACLU of Alaska, which brought the case early last year on behalf of an elementary school student and his parents. The lawsuit had argued that the district’s bathroom rule violated the student’s constitutional rights to privacy and education.
At issue was MSBSD Policy No. 5134 BP, adopted in October 2022. The rule requires students to use restrooms corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificate or to use a single-occupancy restroom as an alternative.
The judge determined that the policy does not infringe on rights guaranteed by the Alaska Constitution, citing the availability of a private restroom option as a reasonable accommodation. That finding rejected the ACLU claims that the rule discriminates against the plaintiff.
The policy serves an important governmental interest in safeguarding student privacy in intimate settings, and the means selected, sex-based access to restrooms and locker rooms, with gender-neutral alternatives, bear a substantial relationship to that interest. Although the policy results in differential treatment of transgender students, the record does not support a finding that it is motivated by animus or that it imposes an unconstitutional burden. The policy does not compel disclosure of gender identity, restrict gender expression, or deny access to restroom facilities,” Jamgochian wrote.
“No court order can fully satisfy all interests of all litigants, and any outcome may impose hardship on some individuals. Questions regarding policy are appropriately left to elected officials and the public. The court’s duty is more limited: to interpret and apply Alaska’s Constitution. For the reasons that follow, the court finds that the challenged policy does not violate the Constitution of the State of Alaska,” the judge ruled.
The ruling leaves the policy in place and means the student must continue using either the girls’ restroom or a designated single-occupancy restroom.
The case, filed in Palmer Superior Court, could next be appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court. The ACLU of Alaska has not yet indicated whether it will pursue further legal action.
Also this month, the US District Court for the District of Idaho, Sexuality and Gender Alliance v. Critchfield, allowed Idaho to enforce its grade-school bathroom privacy law. That ruling followed an order from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that denied a broader challenge to Idaho’s laws protecting privacy and safety of children.
“Separating restrooms by biological sex has been common for centuries…And for good reason—there are biological differences between men and women…Those biological differences are deserving of privacy and S.B. 1100’s segregation of restrooms based on sex is related to that interest,” the court ruled.