Maine Court Awards Transgender Student $75K
A Maine court awarded a transgender female student $75,000 this week after her school district would not allow her to use the bathroom of her choice.
Penobscot County Superior Court ruled last week that Nicole Maines, a student who was born a male but identifies as a female, was discriminated against by the Orono school district when she was forced to use a staff bathroom instead of the girls' bathroom.
According to the Associated Press, the superior court also ruled that the Orono district may no longer "[refuse] access by transgender students to school restrooms that are consistent with their gender identity." The money awarded in the case will reportedly cover legal fees, with a portion going to Maines' family.
The 17-year-old student's father, Wayne Maines, spoke out about this case this week, saying that he's happy that his family can put the seven-year-old court case behind them.
"I'm just glad it's over," Wayne Maines said, according to the Bangor Daily News. "We just want to move on. We just want to be normal."
Carissa Cunningham, a spokesperson for GLAD [Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders], a Boston-based legal group, said that a portion of the $75,000 will be going to her organization, while another portion will be going to the Maines family. Cunningham declined to say how much the family would receive.
"A significant portion of that amount is going to the Maines family," Cunningham told the Press Herald, adding that the November 25 award was a follow-up to the court's decision, made back in January.
This was really just a technical conclusion of the case," Cunningham added.