BOISE, Idaho – A judge ruled in favor of the Idaho Department of Education on Thursday in the case of Sexuality and Gender Alliance v. Critchfield, a preliminary win for the state in an ongoing legal battle. The decision means that Idaho public schools will be able to enforce a law dictating bathroom use according to biological sex, while it continues to be challenged in court.
According to court documents, the preliminary injunction—which would have prevented Idaho from enforcing the law while the case remains in court—was denied due to the likelihood the Sexuality and Gender Alliance will be unable to succeed in their forthcoming arguments.
Idaho Senate Bill 1100, the law in question, was adopted by the legislature on March 22, 2023. The law “requires that students in Idaho public schools use the restroom, changing room, and communal shower that corresponds with his or her biological sex,” court documents said.
“We applaud the court’s decision to allow our state to continue its job of preserving each student’s privacy, dignity, and safety and providing a quality education for Idaho’s children,” Attorney General Raúl Labrador said in a press release.
In neighboring Washington state, the policy is much different.
“Public schools must allow students to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity. Any student—transgender or not—who requests greater privacy for any reason should be given access to an alternative restroom,” says the Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction website.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit previously upheld Idaho’s authority to enforce the law in a decision on March 20.
