South Carolina's top prosecutor and top schools chief have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a federal appeals court decision and ban a Berkeley County transgender student from using a school restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
Attorney General Alan Wilson and state education Superintendent Ellen Weaver, two Republican office holders, filed an emergency application with the high court late Thursday, asking the justices to overturn an injunction granted by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 4th Circuit's injunction prohibits the Berkeley County School District from stopping the teen student, identified in court documents as John Doe, from using the boys' restroom at school.
A provision in the current state budget requires people, including students, to use school restrooms and locker rooms based on their biological sex at birth.
The student who sued has claimed the prohibition in the state budget violates their constitutional rights.
"Doe is a 14-year-old student who simply wishes to use the restroom. Doing so is a biological necessity," Circuit Judge Albert Diaz wrote Aug. 15 in a concurring opinion. "Doing so in restrooms that match his gender identity is his right under our precedent."
As South Carolina law stands, Diaz added, "South Carolina’s proviso is unconstitutional and violates Title IX."
Wilson in a statement Friday called the 4th Circuit's decision "judicial activism at its worst."
“This case is about more than one school district,” Wilson said. “It is about whether unelected judges will override the will of parents and legislators, or whether South Carolina and other states will retain the authority to safeguard student privacy in the most sensitive spaces.”
More than two hours after the Attorney General's Office issued its statement, Wilson's campaign for governor sent out its own press release headlined, "Alan Wilson Takes Bathroom Law to the U.S. Supreme Court."
