Transgender Students Sue To Block Idaho Single-Sex Campus Restroom Law

Two transgender students at Boise State University and the University of Idaho have filed a federal lawsuit challenging Idaho's House Bill 264, a law that mandates gender-specific use of restrooms, dormitories, and changing rooms on public college campuses. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates their Fourteenth Amendment rights by forcing them to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity, which could lead to being outed and subjected to harassment. The lawsuit highlights that both campuses have limited gender-neutral restrooms and that the students have used facilities matching their gender identity without incident. One plaintiff, who uses a pseudonym, has administrative permission to use women's restrooms, while the other is not publicly out as transgender. This legal challenge reflects broader tensions around transgender rights in education, as similar disputes and government interventions have occurred in other states, such as the U.S. Department of Education's mandate against certain Virginia school districts for alleged Title IX violations related to transgender student protections. Idaho officials and educational institutions named in the lawsuit have yet to comment on the case.