Jury Awards $4 Million To Missouri Trans Student

A jury in Missouri awarded transgender student, RJ Appleberry, $4 million in damages on December 13, after a school district refused to let him use male washrooms and locker rooms. 

The Jackson County Jury also awarded him $175,000 in compensatory damages. 

Madeline Johnson, one of the first openly transgender attorneys in Missouri, and a lawyer for Appleberry, said her client was “ecstatic” over  the unanimous ruling. “He was very excited, very happy,” Johnson said.  “He felt vindicated.” 

Katie Woolf, a spokesperson for the Blue Springs School District released a statement saying, “The district disagrees with the verdict and will be seeking appropriate relief from the trial court and court of appeals if necessary.” 

Denied Access to Male Toilets

Court documents stated the Blue Springs School District “denied [the  plaintiff] access to the boys’ restrooms and locker rooms even though he is recognized as a boy under the laws of the state of Missouri.” 

“As a direct result of the unlawful conduct of Defendants, Plaintiff has suffered damages which include mental anguish, emotional distress, pain and suffering, degradation, humiliation, anxiety… all of a continuing and  permanent nature,” the lawsuit said. 

Rachelle Appleberry, RJ’s mother, had repeatedly asked the school board to allow her son to use the male washrooms and locker rooms. 

He was required to use a “separate, single person, unisex bathroom outside the boys’ locker room because Defendants refused to give him access to the boys’ locker rooms,” the lawsuit said.

This led Appleberry, who participated in football and track, to ultimately “chose not to participate in fall sports.” 

When the he moved to Blue Spring South High School in 2015, Appleberry was still denied access to male facilities as he was “alleged to have  female genitalia,” the suit said. 

“Upon information and belief, Defendants do not speculate, inspect, or otherwise inquire as to the genitalia of other male students,” the lawsuit  said. “Defendants have discriminated and continue to discriminate against Plaintiff R.M.A. based on his sex.” 

Lawsuit’s Long Journey Through Courts 

The lawsuit against the school board has had a long history in the Missouri courts. 

Appleberry initially lodged a complaint with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights in 2014 and the lawsuit against the school district was filed  in 2015.  

In 2016, the case was dismissed after the school board successfully argued that gender identity is not a protected status under the Missouri Human Rights Act.  

Appleberry launched an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court in 2019.  The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Appleberry saying lawsuits based on sex and sex stereotypes were legal and could proceed.  

The decision was based on a landmark 2019 ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court which expanded the legal definitions of sex discrimination. 

Madeline Johnson said, “As it covers sex discrimination, that does include the possibility for the person to prove that they were discriminated against based on their sex because of gender stereotyping and gender stereotypes, which is what we alleged in the case RMA vs Blue Springs R-4 School District.”

In June, the US Department of Education said transgender students were protected under Title IX, a law which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded schools. This reversed a policy set in place under former President Donald Trump. 

The case was ultimately sent back to the Circuit Court, for a trial by jury, and a verdict was reached on December 7. 

Appleberry, identified as RMA in the suit, began their transition in 2009  when they were nine years old and in grade four. He had a legal change of name in 2010, and the Jackson County Circuit Court agreed to change his birth certificate in 2014 to reflect his affirmed gender.

Appleberry has since graduated.