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Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of Education
What's at Stake
Thousands of school districts across the country operate with nondiscrimination policies inclusive of their transgender students, including the legal right for these students to access facilities (bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.) consistent with their gender identity. These policies help protect transgender students from harassment, being isolated from their peers, and thrive in a learning environment that believes in their fundamental rights.
Summary
The ACLU, the ACLU of Oklahoma, Lambda Legal, and pro bono co-counsel Covington & Burling LLP filed a federal lawsuit on September 6, 2022 on behalf of three transgender students against a number of state and local agencies and government officials challenging a new school facilities access law that singles out transgender students for unequal treatment.
Passed into law in May of 2022, Oklahoma SB 615 requires all public and public charter schools in the state that serve pre-K through 12th grade students to designate multiple occupancy restrooms at school for exclusive use of either the male or the female sex, as designated on individuals’ original birth certificates. SB 615 also requires that school district boards of education and governing boards of charter schools adopt disciplinary policies applicable to those who do not comply with such designations. It further requires the Oklahoma Board of Education to determine which schools are not in compliance, which will receive a 5% reduction in state funding and expose them to suit by parents or guardians of other students. The complaint charges that SB 615 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, by discriminating on the basis of sex, gender identity, and transgender status.
The lawsuit, Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of Education, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on behalf of Andrew Bridge, 16, a senior at Noble High School just outside of Norman, OK, and his parents Aysha Palmer and Eli Bridge, as well as two other plaintiffs and their families who are proceeding using pseudonyms to protect their privacy.
UPDATE: On April 19, 2024, Plaintiffs appealed to the 10th Circuit the district court’s judgment in favor of defendants.
Legal Documents
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07/18/2024
Amicus Briefs in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants -
- Amicus Brief of American Medical Association et al. in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants
- Amicus Brief of New York et al. in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants
- Amicus Brief of PFLAG et al. in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants
- Amicus Brief of School Administrators in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants
- Amicus Brief of United States in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants
Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief of American Medical Association et al. in Support of Plaintiffs-AppellantsDate Filed: 07/18/2024
Court: Appeals Court (10th Cir.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief of New York et al. in Support of Plaintiffs-AppellantsDate Filed: 07/19/2024
Court: Appeals Court (10th Cir.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief of PFLAG et al. in Support of Plaintiffs-AppellantsDate Filed: 07/19/2024
Court: Appeals Court (10th Cir.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief of School Administrators in Support of Plaintiffs-AppellantsDate Filed: 07/19/2024
Court: Appeals Court (10th Cir.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsAmicus Brief of United States in Support of Plaintiffs-AppellantsDate Filed: 07/19/2024
Court: Appeals Court (10th Cir.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download Document -
07/12/2024
Opening Brief of Plaintiffs-Appellants
Date Filed: 07/12/2024
Court: Appeals Court (10th Cir.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download Document-
03/22/2024
Order Granting School Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings -
01/12/2024
Order Granting State Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and Denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
01/12/2024
Order Granting Plaintiffs' Renewed Motion for Leave to Proceed Pseudonymously -
01/05/2023
Order on Supplemental Briefing -
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02/03/2023
School Defendants' Supplemental Brief -
02/06/2023
Plaintiffs' Supplemental Brief -
02/06/2023
State Defendants' Supplemental Brief
Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsSchool Defendants' Supplemental BriefDate Filed: 02/03/2023
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsPlaintiffs' Supplemental BriefDate Filed: 02/06/2023
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsState Defendants' Supplemental BriefDate Filed: 02/06/2023
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download Document -
02/03/2023
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10/26/2022
State Defendants' Motion to Dismiss -
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11/16/2022
Plaintiffs' Opposition to State Defendants' Motion to Dismiss -
12/02/2022
State Defendants' Reply to Plaintiffs' Opposition to State Defendants' Motion to Dismiss
Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsPlaintiffs' Opposition to State Defendants' Motion to DismissDate Filed: 11/16/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsState Defendants' Reply to Plaintiffs' Opposition to State Defendants' Motion to DismissDate Filed: 12/02/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download Document -
11/16/2022
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09/29/2022
Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
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11/16/2022
School Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
11/16/2022
State Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
12/02/2022
Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction -
01/06/2023
State Defendants' Surreply in Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Bridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsSchool Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary InjunctionDate Filed: 11/16/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsState Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary InjunctionDate Filed: 11/16/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsPlaintiffs' Reply in Support of Motion for Preliminary InjunctionDate Filed: 12/02/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentBridge v. Oklahoma State Department of EducationLegal DocumentsState Defendants' Surreply in Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary InjunctionDate Filed: 01/06/2023
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download Document -
11/16/2022
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09/06/2022
Complaint
Date Filed: 03/22/2024
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentDate Filed: 01/12/2024
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentDate Filed: 01/12/2024
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentDate Filed: 01/05/2023
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentDate Filed: 10/26/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentDate Filed: 09/29/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentDate Filed: 09/06/2022
Court: District Court (W.D. Okla.)
Affiliate: Oklahoma
Download DocumentPress Releases
Response to Death of Nex Benedict From Bridge v. Oklahoma State Board of Education Legal Team
Transgender Public School Students Sue to Block Discriminatory Oklahoma School Facilities Law