In a significant development, the U.S. Supreme Court has turned down South Carolina's plea to enforce a controversial bathroom policy in public schools.
Fox News reported that on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a brief, unsigned order declining to allow South Carolina to implement a ban preventing students from using school restrooms that align with their gender identity, marking a minor setback for the state as a related lawsuit continues in lower courts.
This decision does not delve into the core issues of the case. It merely permits the legal battle to proceed at a lower level.
The court's ruling follows a temporary injunction by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which blocked South Carolina from enforcing the law during ongoing litigation.
The injunction stemmed from a request by a ninth-grade student, identified as John Doe in court documents, who wished to access the boys' restroom despite it not aligning with the student's assigned sex at birth.
Attorneys for John Doe emphasized the student's consistent presentation as male. They highlighted the absence of objections from peers regarding shared facilities.
South Carolina had urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Fourth Circuit's temporary block. The state argued that the matter should be left to local lawmakers.
Three justices appointed by Republican presidents—Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Neil Gorsuch—disagreed with the majority and indicated they would have supported South Carolina's position.
State lawyers expressed their perspective on the issue in their appeal. Below is their statement on the matter:
This case implicates a question fraught with emotions and differing perspectives. That is all the more reason to defer to state lawmakers pending appeal. The decision was the South Carolina legislature’s to make.
The Supreme Court's order offers no commentary on the substantive aspects of the case, leaving uncertainty about its stance on this divisive topic.
This ruling comes after the court's June 2025 decision to uphold a Tennessee restriction on specific medical treatments for transgender minors, hinting at a complex approach to related issues.
As the court prepares to hear arguments on transgender participation in school sports in the upcoming term, a case cited by South Carolina's legal team, the broader landscape of transgender rights in education remains under intense scrutiny, with this latest decision allowing lower courts to shape the immediate future of South Carolina's policy.
