In the action, which was filed August 10 in Jasper County Circuit Court, a student referred to only as J. R. M. in court documents, alleges the district only offered him the options of going to the girls restroom or teachers' restroom though he identifies himself as a boy.
Listed as defendants in the lawsuit are the Joplin R-8 Board of Education, former interim superintendent Norm Ridder, Assistant Superintendent Kerry Sachetta and former Joplin High School Principal Brandon Eggleston, who is currently Seneca R-7 superintendent.
The alleged discrimination is described in the petition:
J.R.M. resided within the boundaries of and attended school in the Joplin R-VIII School District from the beginning of Kindergarten until October 14, 2016. Plaintiff J.R.M. is a 16-year old boy who formerly attended Joplin High School as a student until October 14, 2016. He is a boy who is transgender, which means that he was designated female at birth but has a male gender identity. He has been diagnosed by medical professionals as having Gender Dysphoria, which is a serious medical condition characterized by clinically significant distress cause by an incongruence between a person’s gender identity and the person’s assigned sex at birth.
J.R.M. has undergone treatment for Gender Dysphoria, in accordance with the widely recognized standards of care for that condition. A critical element of that treatment is a “social transition” in which J.R.M. lives in accordance with his gender identity as a boy in all aspects of his life. 23. On or about August 11, 2016, J.R.M.’s mother asked Defendant former Principal Brandon Eggleston that J.R.M be allowed to use the boys’ restrooms and locker room at Joplin High School.
Plaintiff's mother offered Eggleston medical documentation of J.R.M.’s condition from Children’s Mercy Hospital, which explained that J.R.M.’s use of the boys’ bathrooms and locker room was a medical necessity for his mental health. Eggleston responded he knew nothing of J.R.M.’s situation and that he would have to check with others, those others being Defendants Norm Ridder and Kerry Sachetta regarding how the request should be handled and get back to her.
On or about the evening of August 11, 2016 Eggleston contacted (the boy's mother) and informed her that J.R.M. would be required to use a gender-neutral bathroom or the girls’ bathroom and locker room. (The boy's mother) explained to Eggleston that the girls’ bathrooms and locker room were unsafe for J.R.M. because in seventh grade J.R.M. had been assaulted by another student in the girls’ bathroom because he looked like a boy. She also explained that J.R.M. had been told by another female student on another occasion that he did not belong in the girls’ restrooms because he is a boy.
Defendants responded that they did not believe it was unsafe for J.R.M. to use the girls’ bathrooms and locker room and that J.R.M. would not be in any physical danger if he did so.
In or about late August 2016 another student at Joplin High School confronted J.R.M. as he was entering one of the single-person, gender-neutral bathrooms Defendants required him to use. This bathroom, like all other such single-person bathrooms, was marked “Faculty,” and student access was prohibited by a sign on the door.
The student told J.R.M. that he was not supposed to go in there. J.R.M. had to explain to this student that he had special permission to use this bathroom. Having to explain his use of the faculty bathroom to another student was humiliating, embarrassing and degrading for J.R.M. It singled him out for disparate treatment from other boys and clearly distinguished him as “different” or “other” than every other boy in the school based on his sex, and Defendants’ perceptions of his sex.
Defendants barred J.R.M. from using the boys’ bathrooms and locker room for the entire time he attended Joplin High School. Defendants further denied his request for accommodation of his medical condition, despite being presented with documentation from his treating physician that this accommodation was medically necessary for his mental health.
As a result of Defendants’ actions, J.R.M. has had to seek further counseling for anxiety and depression related to school attendance and Defendants’ prohibition of his use of the boys’ bathrooms and locker room.
On or about September 22, 2016, J.R.M. was prescribed anti-depressants as a result of the depression and emotional distress J.R.M. suffered as a result of Defendants’ actions. Because Defendants prohibited J.R.M. from using the boys’ bathrooms at school district facilities, he was often required to hold his urine for the entire day without going to the bathroom. As a result, he developed urinary tract infections and lost the ability to know when he needed to relieve himself until it was too late; he often had accidents on the way home from school.
Upon information and belief, J.R.M. was the only student in his school who had to use separate, gender-neutral restrooms. Because of his medical diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria, the option for J.R.M. to use the girls’ restroom was neither practical nor desirable, and exposed J.R.M. to serious psychological harm.
Defendants’ policy thus required J.R.M. to use only the designated gender-neutral restroom, which stigmatized J.R.M. and marked him as different from the other students; it isolated J.R.M. from his peers and exposed him to serious psychological harm. As a result of this trauma, and in order to avoid the stigma of having to use separate restrooms, J.R.M. tried to avoid using any restrooms during the school day, beyond his capacity to delay relieving himself. Because of J.R.M.’s anxiety, depression, and fears for his safety if he were to use the girls’ bathrooms, his mother requested a 504 education plan as an accommodation to assist his learning.
On or about October 10, 2016 Defendants, through their representatives, held a 504 meeting, which they alleged was for the purpose of determining whether J.R.M. would qualify for the 504 plan. Defendants asked (the boy's mother) to bring medical and psychological documentation to support the request to this meeting, which she did.
When Plaintiffs arrived at the meeting, Defendants had already completed paperwork denying the request for the 504 plan before Plaintiffs were permitted to present supporting documentation and before any meeting was held. Defendants had already determined to deny Plaintiffs’ request without providing them the opportunity to be heard.
The four-count lawsuit alleges sex discrimination, disability discrimination and charges the district officials with retaliation. The boy and his mother are asking for an unspecified amount in damages, costs and attorney fees.
They are represented by Mary Madeline Johnson, Kansas City.
(Disclaimer: I am currently involved in a lawsuit against the Joplin R-8 School District, though none of the individuals listed are defendants.)
12 comments:
And if JRM is raped in the boys bathroom or locker room, there will be another lawsuit...
The highest % that I've found that this "diagnosis" applies to is 1.7% of the population. A viable accommodation was offered to and refused by the plaintiff. Contrary to what the plaintiff wants, allowing a girl to use the boys restroom and locker room is NOT going to resolve their emotional issues, but will only increase them.
I agree, he/she has an illness.
Figures Eggelston would be involved in this ... after Victory - hasn’t he learned what rights / protections are ?
This needs to be treated with psycho-therapy and with chemistry. For this poor girl to be told that she is anything other than female is not only degenerate, but borders on abuse.
She is mentally ill...her parents should be charged with child abuse
How sad that someone would treated like this. Regardless of there gender ID. I think it is brave that this mom is fighting for her child. We need more parents like this out in the world. I hope the district gets what is coming to them. No one deserves to be treated like this.
This needs to be treated with psycho-therapy and with chemistry.
Just like society used to do to gay people?
Let me guess...your bible told you so!
Isn't it nice that you can all hide behind anonymity. That's all he really wants is to anonymously use the restroom like everyone else and not have any attention called to the situation. I promise you he can walk into the mens room right now and no one would know the difference unless they were checking in his jeans. He's not mentally ill. He's actually a functioning member of society, trying to hold down a job and get through life like everyone else.
I very much doubt that the story that is being put out there is accurate. In fact I bet my life savings on it. This is just another glorified attempt to spin the narrative and blame the school district on something that probably never even happened in the first place.
Kuddos to the school district for keeping this student safe! Every boy in the high school knows this student. Don’t forget...many of them started kindergarten with him. I’m so sorry he felt embarrassed, humiliated, and degraded, but thankful he didn’t find himself in a locker room situation. If you have a boy, you know what goes on in there.
Whether or not society believes that gender identity disorder is real or not, each student is protected by civil rights as every adult is. Every school should have a few single room toilets that are marked unisex to protect anyone who may feel uncomfortable using a gender-specific toilet. I stand by my belief that if you have male genitalia you belong in a male bathroom and if you have female genitalia you belong in a girl's bathroom. If you don't know how you identify, then you need a neutral bathroom. There are more issues surrounding this issue than concerns over assault or rape.
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