Missouri, U.S.A., trans student awarded more than $4 million in discrimination case
June 6, 2024After a decade-long legal battle, the Missouri’s Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a transgender man and former student of the Blue Springs School District should receive over $4 million (approximately £3.1 million) in damages for discrimination that occurred during his adolescence.
Judge Anthony Gabbert authored the court’s unanimous decision, concluding that the school district discriminated against the student, identified by his initials R.M.A., on the basis of sex when it barred him from using the boys’ locker room.
A crucial aspect of the appellate court’s decision was the reasoning behind the school district’s discriminatory actions, according to ‘NPR’.
Attorneys for the Blue Spring School District did not dispute that R.M.A. was treated differently, according to Gabbert’s ruling, but explained it was because of his “female genitalia.”
“School district employees suggested that R.M.A. had been excluded from the boys’ restrooms and locker rooms because of [the] school district’s belief that he had female genitalia,” Gabbert wrote. “[The] school district did not actually determine the nature of R.M.A.’s genitalia, however, and does not speculate, inspect or otherwise inquire as to the genitalia of other male students.”
Gabbert wrote that the admission of different treatment based on assumed genitalia constituted discrimination on the basis of sex.
Part of the judicial proceedings included testimony from R.M.A.’s doctor, who stated that R.M.A. had been male for as long as she had been treating him, which began at age nine.
During his time as a student, R.M.A. received an updated birth certificate reflecting his male gender identity.
Image Credit: Canva
School district employees and school board members informed R.M.A.’s mother that locker-room access was determined by birth certificate. When she provided the revised birth certificate to school district officials, R.M.A. was still denied access to boys’ restrooms and locker rooms.
According to court documents, the school board discussed R.M.A.’s birth certificate in a closed-door meeting but never provided his mother with a definitive answer about the policy.
“The evidence at trial… was that (Blue Springs) School District had an unwritten policy of using birth certificates to determine sex,” Gabbert wrote. “Yet, [the] school district refused to tell R.M.A.’s mother that it would honor a corrected birth certificate stating he is male because (it) wanted to keep its options open in the event R.M.A. was able to obtain a corrected birth certificate.”
R.M.A’s birth certificate was amended in December 2014, roughly a year after he began requesting to use the locker room that corresponded with his gender identity and two months after he filed a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights.
R.M.A. filed the lawsuit in October 2015, initiating a complex legal process. The initial trial court dismissed his claim in 2016, stating that the Missouri Human Rights Act does not protect claims based on gender identity. The Missouri Supreme Court reversed this decision in 2019, allowing for another trial.
A December 2021 jury trial awarded R.M.A. over $4.7 million in damages and legal fees. However, attorneys for the Blue Springs School District requested a “judgment notwithstanding the verdict,” a ruling that permits a judge to override a jury’s decision.
The school district argued that R.M.A.’s case only proved discrimination based on “his female genitalia” rather than on the basis of sex.
The trial court judge sided with the school district, necessitating another trial. But Tuesday’s decision overturns that judge’s ruling, reinstating the jury’s verdict.
There are other similar cases currently progressing through Missouri’s courts, including a lawsuit against the Platte County School District brought by the ACLU of Missouri.
Read related myGwork articles here:
Missouri GOP Votes To Slash State Library Funding Over LGBTQ+ Books
Missouri GOP May Punish Gay MAGA Congressman For Acknowledging Same-Sex Marriages Exist
Missouri Republicans Block Repeal Of State’s Marriage Equality Ban
Keep up to date with the latest myGnews