Human Rights Campaign Foundation Responds to Ruling on Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging Tennessee’s Anti-Transgender Student Bathroom Bill

by Aryn Fields •

The District Court denies in part the State’s motion to dismiss, allows case to proceed

Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation issued the following statement regarding the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee’s ruling on the motion to dismiss in D.H. v. Williamson County Board of Education et al. Though granting the State’s motion to dismiss the Title IX claim, a district court judge denied the State’s motion to dismiss D.H.’s Equal Protection Clause claim, allowing the case to proceed. The lawsuit challenges Tennessee’s discriminatory law that denies transgender students, faculty, and staff access to the bathroom, locker rooms and other sex-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity.

This discriminatory Tennessee law, which denies young people who are transgender the ability to use facilities consistent with their gender identity, ignores the protections guaranteed to us under the Constitution. Today’s decision allows us to continue to fight on behalf of transgender and gender nonconforming kids in Tennessee. We are sending a strong message of support for all LGBTQ+ youth across the country—you matter, we see you, and we will keep fighting for you.

Cynthia Cheng-Wun Weaver,, Human Rights Campaign Senior Director of Impact Litigation

The lawsuit alleges that Tennessee’s law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny certiorari in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board left in place a federal circuit court decision recognizing the rights of transgender students under the Equal Protection Clause and Title IX.

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