Effective this morning, the Marion County School Board affirmed the constitutional expectation of its student’s privacy by requiring students to use the bathrooms and other facilities based on biological sex, as requested by Liberty Counsel. This 4-1 vote happened late last night. It will allow students of only one gender, that of their birth, into a bathroom or locker room.

Liberty Counsel represented Harrell "Hal" Phillips before the Marion County School Board in support of this commonsense bathroom policy. Phillips and his son are devout Christians who believe strongly in both biblical modesty and constitutional privacy. Last week, Phillips’ son was extremely upset when he encountered a female student in the boy’s bathroom at his high school, Vanguard High School in Ocala, FL. This was a place where he has a reasonable expectation that he will not encounter the opposite sex. Liberty Counsel also offered to defend the school board for free if it is sued for adopting this policy.

The U.S. Constitution establishes a protection of the privacy of Americans, and our public school students do not give that up when they enter a public school bathroom. This policy protects the privacy rights and safety of all Marion County students. The four board members who voted to approve the policy should be commended for their common sense and courage in the face of threats and intimidation by the ACLU and its allies.

Read our press release for more detail.