FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 9, 2024
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The price is paid by the young and vulnerable.
On July 16th, 2024 lead counsel Perkins Coie will begin delivering oral arguments before the Court of Appeals in the Elizabeth Hunter, et al v. US Department of Education case against Amici curiae, an association of Catholic and other religious colleges and Universities alongside Brigham Young University.
To date, thousands of federally funded schools, colleges, and universities across America are emboldened to engage in discrimination, resulting in stigmatic harm to LGBTQ+ people, and leaving students like the plaintiffs of the Elizabeth Hunter, et al v. US Department of Education lawsuit with no way of confirming whether their institution will be exempt from federal anti-discrimination laws.
In March 2021, a group of LGBTQIA+ students harmed by Title IX exemptions filed suit against the US Department of Education, challenging both the exemption itself and the government’s application of the exemption to students like them. In January of 2023, the judge assigned to their case dismissed their lawsuit. The Court recognized the harm the plaintiffs had suffered but held that they had not alleged a legal claim for which relief could be granted and dismissed their lawsuit.
"I am disappointed in the ruling. The actions of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice have shown once again that human dignity is optional. I was publicly dehumanized, kicked out of school, received death threats, and had people call for my execution for being a Christian student at a Christian school who happened to be trans, and my government refused to protect me then, and refuses to protect me now."
– Plaintiff Kalie Hargrove
With amicus support from numerous individuals and organizations, including 19 state attorneys general, the Hunter plaintiffs appealed this decision by filing their opening brief before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2023.
With Perkins Coie as lead counsel on the appeal, the case is now fully briefed and the legal team is preparing for oral argument before the Court of Appeals on July 16. The event will be streaming live.
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