RALEIGH – Gov. Pat McCrory is interjecting his office in the court case over a transgender teen and the use of bathrooms in Virginia.

McCrory has signed on, in his capacity as governor, to an amicus brief filed by the state of South Carolina in the case of G. G. v. Gloucester County School Board. A bipartisan group of five other state officials have also joined the brief. The brief opposes forcing schools to use gender identity, instead of a person’s biological sex, to determine which bathroom a student must use at a public school.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Virginia filed a lawsuit against the Gloucester County School Board for adopting a policy that provides alternative private restrooms for transgender students from their peers. The Obama Administration has sided with the ACLU in the suit which would force local school districts to open sex-specific student locker rooms and bathrooms to individuals of the opposite biological sex.

The Virginia case involves a student who was born female, identifies as male and wants to use male restrooms.   The ACLU challenged district policy requiring students to use private restrooms or restrooms designated for their biological sex.

“This attempt to centralize gender identity policies in schools at the federal level is another example of Washington encroaching on the local decision-making of the teachers and parents who know their students best,” said Governor McCrory in a press release.  “The privacy and well-being of our students is paramount. Our local school districts and parents are best equipped to make decisions based on their own unique student populations."

A decision favoring the Obama Administration in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals would be binding on all North Carolina school districts, thus removing any local flexibility in dealing with transgender issues.

Local schools and parents in North Carolina are already working with students struggling with gender identity and making decisions to accommodate their needs in a compassionate manner, according to McCrory.