The Supreme Court handed South Carolina a setback Wednesday when it declined to take up the state’s request to enforce its ban on transgender students using public school bathrooms that match their gender identity.
In a brief, unsigned order, the justices allowed a lower court ruling to stand for now, keeping the law on hold while the case plays out. Three Republican-appointed justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch, said they would have sided with the state.
The legal fight stems from a case involving a ninth-grader identified as John Doe, who wants to use the boys’ bathroom at his school. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals previously blocked South Carolina from enforcing its ban while Doe’s lawsuit moves forward. The state had asked the Supreme Court to temporarily lift the injunction, but the justices declined, reported Fox News.
Lawyers for Doe argued there was no emergency requiring Supreme Court intervention, pointing out that the case concerns just one student and that no classmates have objected to him using the boys’ restroom. “Indeed, no student has ever complained about sharing boys’ restrooms with John, who has dressed and presented as a boy since he was a young child,” the attorneys wrote in their filing.
The high court did not explain its decision, offering little insight into how it might approach the broader issue in the future. The justices have shown increasing interest in cases tied to transgender rights. In June, the Court upheld a Tennessee law banning certain medical treatments for transgender minors. And later this term, the Court is expected to hear arguments over transgender participation in school sports, a case likely to draw nationwide attention.
South Carolina officials argued their law deserved to be enforced while the appeal continues. In their filing, lawyers for the state said the matter was “fraught with emotions and differing perspectives” and urged the justices to respect the decision of state lawmakers. “That is all the more reason to defer to state lawmakers pending appeal. The decision was the South Carolina legislature’s to make,” they wrote.
For now, the lower court ruling remains in place, and Doe can continue to use the boys’ restroom at his school. The case will keep winding through the courts, with the potential to make its way back to the Supreme Court down the line.
The order highlights the Court’s cautious approach to a contentious cultural debate, one that has already divided states and fueled heated battles over schools, healthcare, and sports. While the justices have yet to take a definitive stand on bathroom access, Wednesday’s move signals that at least for now, they are unwilling to step in early on South Carolina’s behalf.