Transgender student sues Evansville schools over restrooms

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A transgender student is suing a southern Indiana school district for denying him use of male restrooms.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a federal complaint last week on behalf of the student against the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. It says the high school junior identified only as J.A.W. was told he's not allowed to use male restrooms and instead could use the school nurse's bathroom.

J.A.W. is listed as female on his birth certificate but identifies as male.

School district spokesman Jason Woebkenberg tells The Indianapolis Star it believes it meets state and federal legal requirements as they relate to transgender students.

A federal appeals court in May ruled in favor of a transgender student who challenged a Wisconsin school district's policy limiting his bathroom usage.

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com