Doe v. Clenchy
Case Summary
GLAD is representing a transgender teen girl whose Orono, Maine elementary school denied her use of the girls’ restroom and other facilities and restricted her participation in school activities. The student also suffered a campaign of harassment and bullying for over two school years at the hands of a classmate, who the school failed to discipline. Eventually the bullying got so bad the parents were forced to withdraw their daughter and her twin brother from the Orono school system and move them to another part of the state where they could go to school quietly and safely.
The parents also filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission and ultimately decided to file a lawsuit on behalf of their daughter. GLAD is representing the daughter along with Lewiston attorney Jodi L. Nofsinger of Berman & Simmons, P.A.
Updates and Filings
In May, 2011 GLAD filed a complaint in Penobscot Superior Court outlining counts of discrimination in education and public accommodation, harassment, and infliction of emotional distress. The named defendants are the Superintendent of the Orono Schools Department, the Orono Schools Department, School Union 87, and Riverside Regional Schools Unit.
On January 30, 2012 GLAD filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Maine’s law prohibiting discrimination in schools on the basis of gender identity requires that a school provide a transgender girl with access to the girls’ restroom.