A federal judge has again ordered an Indiana middle school to allow a transgender student to use the boys' bathroom.
The student had previously filed a request in state court to change the name on his birth certificate and to have the gender marker on it changed from female to male.
WTHR-TV in Indianapolis reported Monday that Judge Tanya Walton Pratt reaffirmed her order from last month that granted a preliminary injunction giving the student the right to use the boys' restroom at John R. Wooden Middle School in Martinsville.
Her initial order had been on hold while the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville filed motions with the court.
But in her ruling, Pratt said the district's argument against the student using the bathroom was speculative, unsupported by evidence and "appears questionable given that the school district allows other transgender students to use the restrooms associated with their gender identity," according to the TV station.
And the student had noted that the school year ends on May 26. That time period is far shorter than the three weeks the student used the boys' bathroom earlier this year. Pratt noted there were no incidents during that time.
"In addition, the School District has not presented any new arguments or evidence to demonstrate that the public interest weighs in favor of maintaining the School District's authority over such matters until more clear and direct guidance on Title IX is provided," Pratt wrote in her ruling.
The school district is now appealing the judge's order.
The Washington Examiner reported that in 2020, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Virginia transgender student's civil rights under Title IX were violated when it barred the biologically female student from using the boys' bathroom.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.