Another 10 States Sue Obama Administration Over Bathroom Guidance For Transgender Students

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Publish Date:
July 8, 2016
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The Washington Post
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Summary

Ten additional states are suing the Obama administration to stop a directive that requires schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identity under the threat of losing federal funding, bringing the total number of states challenging the guidance to 21.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson announced the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Nebraska, on Friday afternoon. The state is joined by nine others: Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Stanford law professor Jeffrey Fisher, co-director of the school’s Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, said the court is more likely to take up an issue if federal appellate courts come to different legal conclusions. But he said the high court often waits until lawsuits have the chance to percolate through the legal system so it has the benefit of the input from other jurisdictions.

“The fact that a particular issue is being litigated in several states across the country weighs in favor” of the Supreme Court stepping in, Fisher said.

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