U.S. appeals court sides with transgender student over bathroom access

FILE PHOTO: Activist Gavin Grimm arrives for the Time 100 Gala in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York, U.S. April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday ruled that a Virginia school board acted unlawfully in preventing a transgender student from using a bathroom at his high school that corresponded with his gender identity.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a 2-1 vote that Gavin Grimm, now a college student, is protected under federal law that bars sex discrimination in education and the U.S. Constitution's requirement that people be treated equally under the law.