Pennsylvania student sues school district for allowing girl to use boys' locker room

A bathroom sign welcomes both genders at the Cacao Cinnamon coffee shop in Durham, North Carolina, United States on May 3, 2016. | Reuters/Jonathan Drake/File Photo

A male student in Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against a local school district due to its policy that allows girls to enter the boys' locker room.

The lawsuit against the Boyertown Area School District was filed on Tuesday by conservative groups Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Independence Law Center (ILC) on behalf of the student who was identified in the suit by the pseudonym "Joel Doe."

According to the lawsuit, the student was changing in the locker room last October when he noticed a girl undressing just a feet away from him. The teen, who was standing in the room with nothing but his underwear, hurriedly put his clothes on and left.

"He was naturally upset, so he went after class with a group of friends to go see the [assistant] principal to find out what was going on," ADF-affiliated attorney Randall Wenger narrated, as reported by Christian News Network.

"And the [assistant] principal told him, 'I've got no other options for you. I'm going to ask you to tolerate this and make it as natural as you possibly can,'" he continued.

The school district's policy allows students to access bathrooms and changing rooms consistent with their gender identity, according to The Christian Post.

When the parents attempted to meet with the assistant principal, Wayne Foley, they were reportedly told that "the school district is 'all-inclusive' and that if [the boy] had a problem changing or using restrooms with people of the opposite sex, he would get him permission to go to the nurse's office to change."

The student's parents also met with district Superintendent Richard Faidley, but he told them that they should just take the teen out of the school and homeschool him if he did not want to change in the presence of the girl and if he did not want to change in the nurse's office.

The lawsuit alleged that the school district did not inform the parents that it was allowing students to access locker rooms and restrooms according to their gender identity. It noted that the school district policy violates Pennsylvania law which requires male and female facilities to be separate. It also contended that the policy violates the student's rights to bodily privacy.

The lawsuit came after President Donald Trump's administration rescinded a guidance, issued under the administration of former President Barack Obama, that instructed schools to allow transgender students to access bathrooms and locker rooms according to their perceived gender.

Eliza Byard, the executive director of the New York City-based Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, argued that the lawsuit could have been avoided if the school had provided special accommodations for students who felt uneasy about going to changing areas with members of the opposite sex.