Jackie Evancho’s transgender sister wins first step in school bathroom lawsuit

Singer Jackie Evancho’s transgender sister Juliet won the first step in a lawsuit against her Pennsylvania high school on Monday (27Feb17).
Juliet, who was born Jacob and transitioned into a woman when she was 17, and two other students at the Pine-Richland High School filed a lawsuit against the school after its board passed a policy in September (16) stating that all pupils had to use the bathroom corresponding with the gender on their birth certificate.
United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Judge Mark R. Hornak granted Evancho, Elissa Ridenour and a transgender boy their request for a preliminary injunction against the policy, concluding that the group had a “reasonable likelihood” of successfully arguing that the school had made an unconstitutional decision by introducing their bathroom policy.
Following the ruling, Ridenour said in a statement: “The past months have been incredibly stressful, and this was all so unnecessary. There was no problem before, and we are confident there will be no problem now.”
She added to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Even though it’s such a small win, it really is huge in this respect. I’m very happy and it’s a relief. We still have a fight left to go, but we’re not going to give up.”
Meanwhile, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a lawyer with Lambda Legal, the civil rights group representing the three students, said: “The ruling is a reminder to school districts across Pennsylvania and across America that they have a legal duty to respect the gender identity of all their students.”
The ruling comes after teenage singer Jackie, who performed at new U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January (17), pleaded with the leader to consider meeting with her and her sibling to discuss his administration’s decision to remove the federal guidelines that allowed transgender school students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
Former America’s Got Talent star Jackie wrote on Twitter: “Pls give me & my sis the honor 2 meet with u 2 talk #transgender rights (sic).”