The ACLU of Alaska filed litigation against the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) over its preventing transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity (Policy No. 5134 BP). The MSBSD board approved this policy in October 2022.
The ACLU of Alaska is representing a set of parents bringing the case on behalf of their transgender son. Under this policy, every day, their child faces mental and physical challenges because he is denied access to the boys’ bathrooms, even though he is a boy.
MSBSD Policy 5134 BP infringes on the student's constitutional right to privacy because it violates his fundamental right to make his own choices about his body, his name, his gender identity, and the appropriate bathroom for him to use. This policy also violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Alaska constitution because it treats transgender students differently than other students.
On September 4, 2024, the ACLU of Alaska filed a motion for preliminary injunction to allow the plaintiff to be able to use the gender that aligns with his identity while the merits of the case are being reviewed by the court.
