Transgender high school student files sex discrimination lawsuit against Joplin R-8, Ridder, Sachetta, Eggleston

A transgender high school student who was not permitted to use the boys restroom at Joplin High School and his mother have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the Joplin R-8 School District.

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.)