Jury Awards $4M to Trans Boy After School Denies Him Restroom Access

A jury on Monday found that a Missouri school district owes more than $4 million in damages for sex discrimination against a trans student.

The jury decided the Blue Springs R-IV School District was liable to discrimination after not allowing a male trans student to use the boys' restrooms and locker rooms, according to local TV station KSHB.

The student changed his name in 2010 and had also changed his birth certificate to reflect his gender identity in 2014, according to the suit. He filed the lawsuit the next year.

While the state recognized his proper gender, the district denied him access to the boys' facilities at Delta Woods Middle School and the Freshman Center.

"Defendants again denied [the plaintiff] access to the boys' restrooms and locker rooms even though he is recognized as a boy under the laws of the state of Missouri," the court document said, reports KSHB. "Defendants continue to deny [the plaintiff] access to the boys' restrooms and locker rooms as of the filing of this Petition."

In order to participate in physical education and athletics, the boy had to use a single-person restroom near the boys' restroom, the suit said. He had played in the middle school boys' football and track teams.

He decided not to participate in the 2014-2015 school year due to being denied access to the boys' facilities.

This resulted in him feeling lesser than the other boys at the school, according to the lawsuit.

"Upon information and belief, Defendants do not speculate, inspect, or otherwise inquire as to the genitalia of other male students," the lawsuit argued. "Defendants have discriminated and continue to discriminate against Plaintiff R.M.A. based on his sex."

After the verdict, the school district released a statement that said it disagreed with the decision and would be "seeking appropriate relief from the trial court and court of appeals if necessary."