Originally published on August 14, 2025, on IdahoEdNews.org
(UPDATED, 4:49 p.m., with more remarks from the legal firm that represents the student organization at Boise High School.)
BOISE, ID Following a rush of motions in federal courts, a state legislation that restricts transgender students’ use to school restrooms is now completely in place, at least temporarily.
The scope of the legal actions was limited to Boise High School. However, they did not end the current legal dispute in the courtroom. Senate Bill 1100, which was passed in 2023, mandates that students use restrooms that correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth. For over two years, the statute has been challenged.
An overview of the last week’s events and potential future developments is provided below.
The Boise High School issue
Two federal courts heard the case of lawyers representing the Sexuality and Gender Alliance, or SAGA, a student organization at Boise High. Only at Boise High did they want a federal judge to stop the state statute from being enforced. Additionally, they wanted this to be completed by Tuesday, the first day of classes.
On August 7, U.S. District Court Judge David Nye of Boise rejected a motion. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit did the same.
SAGA’s lawyers claimed that by permitting Boise students to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity, as they had for almost ten years, they were merely attempting to maintain the status quo.
In a brief with the Circuit Court on Monday, Peter Renn, an attorney for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund of Los Angeles, stated that prejudice should not be the first thing transgender students face during back-to-school week.
Lawyers also argued over access in addition to legal procedure. According to SB 1100, schools must make a reasonable effort to accommodate students who are unable or unwilling to use restrooms that correspond to the sex they were given at birth.
In a Circuit Court answer to Lambda’s motion, Attorney General Ra l Labrador’s legal team stated that Boise High School has several single-occupancy restrooms that any student may use.
Renn brushed this off.
He wrote that being denied access to the same public facilities as everyone else and having to go somewhere else is extremely degrading and stigmatizing. Additionally, not all campus buildings have single-user facilities, and even those that do have them are not even close to being similar.
What happens next: a federal court appeal
SB 1100 is still in effect, but it is also in legal limbo at Boise High and throughout the state.
In an attempt to overturn the statute, Lambda Legal has appealed to the Circuit Court and asked the court for an injunction. SB 1100 might be put on hold once more if the court orders an injunction.
According to Renn’s comment to Idaho EdNews on Thursday, “We’re hopeful that the appeals court will pause this law while the appeal is being decided, just like it did before.” At Boise High, transgender students cannot return to the day they are informed they must go somewhere else and that they don’t belong with everyone else. As a young person, it might be difficult to resist internalizing the idea that you are not worthy of fundamental dignity in your day-to-day existence.
Two factors determine the appeal. Since SB 1100 prohibits children from using school facilities that correspond with their gender identity, opponents claim it violates their right to equal protection under the 14th Amendment. Additionally, they claim that the state statute is in violation of Title IX, a historic federal education law that forbids sex-based discrimination.
Nye stated in his decision from last week that Lambda Legal was not likely to prevail in an appeal. Labrador was eager to capitalize on the point in a news release.
According to him, Idaho’s law protects all kids’ privacy and safety in school locker rooms, lavatories, showers, and other private areas, reflecting biological fact. This is just another win for common sense and women’s and girls’ dignity over activists who want to further a destructive agenda.
Nye acknowledged the intricacy of the matter and appeared to understand the importance of the appeal when he decided to uphold SB 1100 at Boise High.
Actual people In any case, the court’s ruling will affect actual youngsters who are just trying to live their lives and are not equipped to understand the subtleties of complex legal arguments.
