**Transgender Student Sues South Carolina School District Over Restroom Use**

A transgender eighth-grader, allegedly threatened with expulsion for using the boys' restroom, has filed a lawsuit against his South Carolina school district and the state over a budget rule that limits accommodations for transgender students. The legal action was initiated by John Doe, a pseudonym for the 13-year-old student in the Berkeley County School District, who claims school administrators enforced the restrictive policy starting in August.

According to the federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday, Doe was instructed to either use the girls' restroom or a single-occupancy facility in the nurse's office due to a recent state regulation. The student was suspended for a day after being caught using the boys' restroom, and the principal warned of possible expulsion for repeat offenses, the suit alleges.

"I am bringing this lawsuit because rules like this are damaging to kids' mental, physical, and emotional health," Doe said in a statement provided by his attorney.

In June, a provision in the state budget was passed stipulating that public schools would lose 25% of their state funding if they allowed students to use restrooms and locker rooms inconsistent with their biological sex. This state rule is at odds with a federal regulation under Title IX, issued by the Biden administration, which mandates that schools permit students to use facilities matching their gender identity.

"At the end of the day, they have to follow the law," said Alexandra Brodsky, an attorney with the nonprofit advocacy group Public Justice, which is representing Doe. "And the law says that trans students get to equally enjoy their education as their cisgender peers."

The lawsuit, which names the Berkeley County School District, the state of South Carolina, and state superintendent Ellen Weaver as defendants, seeks class-action status and aims to declare the state policy a violation of the Constitution's equal protection clause. The Alliance for Full Acceptance, an LGBTQ advocacy group in South Carolina, is also a plaintiff in the case.

The school district mentioned it has not yet reviewed the lawsuit, and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office and the Department of Education indicated that they do not comment on pending litigation.

The Biden administration's updated Title IX rule, enacted in April, faces legal challenges, with courts granting injunctions requested by 26 Republican-led states, including South Carolina, to block enforcement by the U.S. Department of Education. This federal rule cites a 2020 Supreme Court decision that discrimination against LGBTQ employees violates federal gender equality laws. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to revoke protections for transgender students should he take office again.

The Supreme Court has yet to address a case specifically focused on transgender students' rights under Title IX, though it declined to hear a landmark case in 2021, Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, allowing a favorable ruling for a transgender student's restroom use to remain.

South Carolina legislators who supported the budget rule anticipated legal challenges, hoping such a case would escalate to the Supreme Court. The state directed schools to avoid using the term "gender" in policies and facility signage to align with the budget provision.

Doe, identified as female at birth but presenting as male since a young age, has been open about his gender identity since seventh grade. "The truth is other students weren't bothered by me using the bathroom," Doe stated. "Neither was my school principal. The problem is state law."

Following the district's reprimand for using the boys' restroom, Doe faced increased harassment from other students, leading his parents to withdraw him from the school and enroll him in an online education program managed by the district, which the lawsuit describes as inferior.

"What happens with this case really could be the beginning of a very, very long and intense policy and political battle that we will see take form over the next two to three years," said Jonathan Collins, co-director of Columbia University's Politics and Education program. He added that the case "could be the first step in what becomes a major change in education policy and legal precedent."

South Carolina is also among 26 states that have banned gender-affirming medical care for minors, a prohibition currently being contested by the American Civil Liberties Union in an ongoing lawsuit.