Elliot Yoder is a transgender student from the Dallas School District where parents have filed a federal lawsuit challenging guidelines meant to accommodate transgender students at schools.
Ericka Cruz Guevarra / OPB
The ACLU of Oregon, on behalf of Basic Rights Oregon, has filed motions to intervene and dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by parents from the Dallas School District challenging state and federal guidelines for Oregon's transgender students.
If granted, the motion to intervene would include the ACLU as a defendant in the lawsuit. The motion to dismiss could end the lawsuit entirely.
The lawsuit, filed by about 25 parents at the Dallas School District in the mid-Willamette Valley last November, alleges federal and state guidelines that allow transgender students to use bathrooms or locker rooms that align with their gender identity violates other students’ privacy.
"We believed [the lawsuit] lacked legal merit," said Mat dos Santos, legal director of the ACLU of Oregon. "Courts have repeatedly concluded that federal civil rights laws protect transgender students against discrimination at school – including equal access to facilities."
Civil rights advocates pledged to challenge the lawsuit after it was filed, saying it's important that transgender students feel safe to express their gender identity at school.
The attorney for the parents says the state should define "reasonable accommodations" that protect the privacy of all students.