GLOUCESTE, VA — (08-26-21) — A Virginia school board announced on Thursday they’ve reached a settlement with Gavin Grimm, a transgender man who sued the Gloucester Country School Board after the school officials did not allow him to use the bathroom that corresponds with his gender identity.

The Gloucester Country School Board agreed to pay $1.3 million in attorney’s fees and costs in the settlement.

Virginia Reach Settlement with Transgender Activist Gavin Grimm

Back in 2014 Gavin Grimm was allegedly told by the Gloucester Country school board that he could not use a bathroom designated for boys. The school board later allowed him to use his own bathroom amid an outcry from national media organizations and parents upset with the school’s decision.

Grimm sued the school board instead, a case which, after six years, almost made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the high court said it would not hear Grimm’s case after the school board tried to appeal a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, which sided with Grimm.

“Rather than allow a child equal access to a safe school environment, the Gloucester School Board decided to fight this child for five years in a costly legal battle that they lost,” said Grimm in a statement. “I hope that this outcome sends a strong message to other school systems, that discrimination is an expensive losing battle.”

A school board spokeswoman declined to comment to JRL CHARTS past the extent of acknowledging that the school board will be paying the money associated with Gavin Grimm’s attorney fees.

“We are glad that this long litigation is finally over and that Gavin has been fully vindicated by the courts, but it should not have taken over six years of expensive litigation to get to this point,” Josh Block, Grimm’s lawyer, said in a statement.

“After a year in which state legislatures have introduced an unprecedented number of bills targeting trans youth, we hope that the fee award will give other school boards and lawmakers pause before they use discrimination to score political points,” said Block.

Article by: Paul Goldberg, Staff Writer

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