Over the past year, courts have extended the protections of state and federal law to transgender students. In N.H. v. Anoka-Hennepin School District, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that the Minnesota Constitution and the Minnesota Human Rights Act protected transgender students' rights to use the locker room consistent with their gender identity. In Bostock v. Clayton County, the United States Supreme Court extended Title VII protections to gay and transgender employees. This year, the Supreme Court declined review of the Fourth Circuit's decision in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, which held that the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and Title IX protect transgender students from school bathroom policies that prohibit them from affirming their gender.

In light of these recent developments, this CLE will address what lawyers should know about the legal landscape concerning transgender student rights, how states, school boards, and individual school administrators are applying and enforcing these laws, and how these developments will affect a wide variety of industries and practice areas.

Our distinguished panel features Jess Braverman from Gender Justice and David McKinney from the Minnesota ACLU, who have recently litigated cases regarding transgender students' rights; Irina Vaynerman, the Deputy Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, who will discuss how enforcement of these landmark civil rights cases affect the work of the Minnesota State Agencies; and Cheryl Greene, from the Human Rights Campaign's Welcoming Schools, who will bring her real-world, practical experience assisting families and schools to comply with the U.S. and Minnesota Constitutions and with state and federal antidiscrimination statutes. Our panel will be moderated by Amy Conners, an attorney at Best & Flanagan and former Co-Chair of the Lavender Bar Association. Ms. Conners also served as pro-bono co-counsel for a transgender student and his mother, seeking equal rights and access from his school district, and obtained a successful settlement on their behalf.

The future of transgender student rights will continue to develop and present opportunities for schools, law firms, corporations, and employers to examine and broaden their own policies and practices to prevent discrimination and promote individual liberty and acceptance for all Minnesotans. We hope you can join us for this important discussion.

Featuring:

Jess Braverman, Legal Director, Gender Justice

David McKinney, Staff Attorney, Minnesota ACLU

Irina Vaynerman, Deputy Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Rights

Cheryl Greene, Director, Human Rights Campaign Welcoming Schools

Moderated by:

Amy Conners, Attorney, Best & Flanagan

Thank you to all of our co-sponsors

Best & Flanagan,Gender Justice, Minnesota Department of Human Rights, The ACLU of Minnesota, and The Office of the Minnesota Attorney General.

1.5 hours of CLE credit has been approved for this event.

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