Supreme Court will not hear transgender bathroom rights dispute, a win for Va. student who sued his school for discrimination

The Supreme Court declined to hear a legal battle over the rights of transgender students on Monday, handing a victory to Gavin Grimm over the Virginia school board that denied him the right to use the boys’ restroom.

As is its custom, the court did not say why it was rejecting the appeal of the Gloucester County school district. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would have accepted the case.

The court’s decision not to take up the case does not establish a national precedent, nor does it signal agreement with the lower court. Legal battles involving transgender rights are being fought in lower courts, and the Supreme Court often lets such issues percolate before weighing in. A direct split among the regional appeals courts is often what prompts the justices to enter the debate.