Tennessee Lawmakers, ACLU Square Off Over Bathroom Policy

Tennessee lawmakers are pushing back against an American Civil Liberties Union complaint over a public school bathroom policy.

The ACLU says Sumner County schools discriminate against transgender students by requiring them to use the bathroom of their sex at birth.

ACLU Executive Director Hedy Weinberg says their goal with filing the complain "was to ensure that transgender students and our client are treated fairly by the school system."

However, officials say school policies should protect all students, not just a select few.

"The Sumner County Board of Education strives to provide all students with a quality education in a safe environment that is respectful to each of its 29,000 students," the Sumner Country Schools said in a statement."

"Our schools allow transgender students to follow the dress code corresponding to their gender identity, address them with the name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity, and provide alternative physical-education options," the statement continued.

Despite the accommodations, Sumner County is unwavering about its bathroom policy.

"While transgender students must use the general restroom and locker room facilities corresponding to their birth gender, our schools provide alternative, private, unisex restrooms and changing facilities," the county statement read.

State lawmakers say for the majority of students this is a privacy and safety issue.

"The ACLU is supposedly protecting the rights of those one or two students. Who's protecting the rights of the 29,000 students?" state Sen. Ferrell Haile said of the ACLU complaint.

Both sides are waiting to see if the Department of Education will step in.