{"ID":62765,"name":"Gloucester County School Board v. G.G.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2016\/16-273","view_count":0,"docket_number":"16-273","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Gloucester County School Board","second_party":"G.G., by his Next Friend and Mother Deirdre Grimm","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1477630800],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/53899"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1488780000],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/54095"}],"lower_court":{"ID":9,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/9"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EDuring the 2013-14 school year, G.G., a transgender student at Gloucester High School, was diagnosed with gender dysphoria. G. subsequently obtained permission from the school\u2019s principal to use the boys\u2019 restroom during the 2014-15 school year. However, upon discovering that G. had been using the boys\u2019 restroom, several county residents contacted the Gloucester County School Board (Board) to demand that G. be barred from doing so. Initially, the Board announced plans to install additional privacy measures in the school\u2019s restrooms. However, following additional protest from county residents, the Board passed a policy mandating that transgender students only be allowed access to single-stall unisex restrooms or restrooms that correspond with their sex assigned at birth.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn January 7, 2015, the Department of Education (DOE) issued an opinion letter to schools regarding its regulation under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 permitting the separation of restrooms and locker rooms on the basis of sex. In the letter, the DOE stated that the regulation required schools receiving federal funds to allow transgender students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity. Relying on the DOE\u2019s interpretation, G. sued the Board and alleged that its policy violated Title IX as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and sought both damages and an injunction against the policy. The district court granted the Board\u2019s motion to dismiss the Title IX claim and denied G.\u2019s motion for preliminary injunction. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and held that, both because the term \u201csex\u201d in the DOE\u2019s regulation was ambiguous as applied to transgender students and because the DOE\u2019s interpretation was the result of its well-considered judgment, the district court erred in not according deference to the DOE\u2019s interpretation of its own regulation. \u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Col\u003E\u003Cli dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EShould an unpublished agency letter which interprets the agency\u2019s own regulation be accorded deference?\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn this case, should the Department of Education\u2019s interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and its regulation permitting separation of restrooms on the basis of sex be accorded deference?\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ol\u003E","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EOn March 6, 2017, the Court vacated the judgment of the appellate court and remanded the case to the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit for further consideration in light of the guidance document issued by the Department of Education and Department of Justice on February 22, 2017.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":null,"oral_argument_audio":null,"citation":{"volume":null,"page":null,"year":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_citation\/case_citation\/27467"},"decisions":null,"first_party_label":"Petitioner","second_party_label":"Respondent","heard_by":[null],"decided_by":{"ID":62665,"name":"Roberts Court (2016-2017)","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/courts\/roberts7","view_count":0,"members":[{"ID":15086,"name":"John G. 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