A North Carolina father is suing Cabarrus County Schools over the school bathroom policy, saying administrators would not tell him whether biological males could use the same restrooms or locker rooms as his children. Brandon Matthews, whose daughter attends Mount Pleasant Elementary School and whose son is entering his senior year at Mount Pleasant High School, says he asked school leaders in May to notify him if a member of the opposite biological sex was allowed to use facilities shared by his children.
Matthews says he did not ask officials to name any student. Still, his attorney says the district never gave him a clear answer. Nicholas Barry, senior counsel at America First Legal Foundation, said Matthews does not know whether a male is using his fourth-grade daughter's bathroom and argued that parents have a constitutional right to that information. Barry said Matthews is left in the dark without a way to make informed decisions for his children.
The dispute reached the public at a May eleven school board meeting, where Matthews appeared with his daughter and urged officials to keep boys and girls in separate bathrooms. He told the board that no child was being singled out and said the goal was to make bathrooms accessible to each gender. His daughter then told the board that she would not want a boy following her into the girls bathroom and called that inappropriate. Matthews also used heated language during the meeting, saying he could get aggressive and warning that anyone who touched his little girl would be hung from his garage.
Less than three weeks later, Matthews put his concerns in writing. He asked the elementary school principal to inform him if any biological male was permitted to use the female restroom facilities his daughter uses. He made a similar request for his son at the high school. Both principals replied on June eight, according to court filings, and said they could not confirm, disclose or give advance notice about the status, identity or accommodations of any student because student matters are confidential. They told Matthews he could contact the school if a specific situation affected his daughter’s experience.
Matthews filed suit in the Middle District of North Carolina against the Cabarrus County Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. John Kopicki and the principals of his children’s schools. America First Legal Foundation and co-counsel Philip Thomas represent him. On Friday, Matthews also asked for a preliminary injunction that would require the district to disclose its rules for sex-separated bathrooms and locker rooms and to reveal whether members of the opposite sex are permitted to access, or have accessed, facilities used by his children. He says his religious beliefs hold that sex is immutable and that his children should not be expected to undress or use restrooms alongside members of the opposite sex.
