The mother of an unnamed female Oklahoma student (E.G.) sued her daughter’s school on May 25, 2023, after the girl was “attacked and severely beaten” by a “male transgender student in the designated girls’ bathroom” on October 26, 2022. The lawsuit alleges Edmond Memorial High School allowed the male student to use the girls’ bathroom in violation of an Oklahoma law enacted on May 25, 2022.
The alleged assault occurred five days after “the Edmond Police remove[d] the male transgender student from the girls’ bathroom and search[ed] him for a weapon after” he allegedly made threats against E.G.
Edmond Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Angela Grunewald issued a video statement on the assault on December 16, 2022. Grunewald claimed the trans male student was a recent admittee whose parents enrolled him as a female and who presented “by all social norms” as female. Grunewald stated policy did not require a birth certificate for high school students.
According to Grunewald, the trans male student was disciplined for violating school policy against fighting and for using a bathroom inconsistent with his sex. Grunewald stated the trans male student was no longer enrolled at Edmond Memorial High School as of the date of the video.
The complaint alleges that E.G. informed a school official “that the male transgender student had confided in her that he was, in fact, a male student that identified as female.”
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs responded to Grunewald’s statement on December 20, 2022. The response cites Oklahoma state Senator David Bullard criticizing the school’s decision to take students “at their word because ‘they dress that way, that’s what they are’” as a “full violation of the text of that law.” The organization noted Edmond Public Schools’ enrollment page requires new students to provide “a legal birth certificate.”
The Oklahoma law at issue is Title 70, § 1-125. The law defines “sex” as “the physical condition of being male or female based on genetics and physiology, as identified on the individual’s original birth certificate.” Section 125 mandates
B. . . . [E]ach public school and public charter school that serves students in prekindergarten through twelfth grades in this state shall require every multiple occupancy restroom or changing area designated as follows:
1. For the exclusive use of the male sex; or2. For the exclusive use of the female sex.
The law gives parents or guardians the right to sue for noncompliance:
G. A parent or legal guardian of a student enrolled in and physically attending a public school district or public charter school shall have a cause of action against the public school district or public charter school for noncompliance with the provisions of subsections B and C of this section.
The plaintiff seeks damages “in excess of $75,000.00,” costs, and attorney fees from Edmond Public Schools.
A representative for Edmond Public Schools declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Edmond Public Schools Lawsuit by OKCFOX
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