A Virginia school board is paying out $1.3 million after a transgender student was denied access to the boys' bathroom.
Gavin Grimm, 22, sued the Virginia School Board in 2014 when he was prevented from using the boy's bathroom because it violated Title IX, which prevents discrimination on account of a person's sex, Insider reports.
"It's absolutely vindication," Grimm told the outlet. "The court found that what they did was wrong and it was discrimination and it was not going to go without consequence, and I think that's fantastic."
He was represented by the American Civil Liberties Union in the lawsuit, but the Supreme Court declined to review the case in June and upheld the lower court ruling that Grimm was discriminated against.
The settlement of the case and the order for the Gloucester County School Board to pay $1.3 million in attorney fees and other costs associated with the case were announced by the ACLU on August 26.
"We are glad that this long litigation is finally over and that Gavin has been fully vindicated by the courts, but it should not have taken over six years of expensive litigation to get to this point," Josh Block, the senior staff attorney with the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, said in a statement.
"After a year in which state legislatures have introduced an unprecedented number of bills targeting trans youth, we hope that the fee award will give other school boards and lawmakers pause before they use discrimination to score political points."
The Gloucester County School Board said in a statement that their insurance provider was going to pay attorney fees and costs from the litigation.
According to ACLU, Grimm's victory comes after at least 28 states voted in favor of anti-trans legislation in 2021, which, among other limitations, could prevent pupils from competing as their gender identity.
Insider reports that Grimm is now hoping that the years-long case will discourage other schools from implementing anti-trans policies.
"There's plenty of states that still have ongoing anti-trans legislation," Grimm said. "But slowly and surely we're coming for all of them."
"Their hatred and discrimination is struck down in court over and over again," he added.
