Mother of Transgender Teen Asks Judge to Act Before Start of School Year

The district dictates what bathroom he uses and could force him to wear a bright green wristband in school and the mother of a transgender student wants it to stop.

She filed a lawsuit on his behalf in July, but it won't be settled before the start of the school year, so in the meantime the mom wants the judge to force the school to treat her son like any other student.

We first brought you the story of Ash Whitaker in April when the Kenosha Unified School District told the then junior at Tremper High he couldn't run for prom king; only prom queen.

Ashton was born a female but started publicly transitioning to male his sophomore year.

A motion filed Tuesday says this is only part of the district's discrimination against him and a judge has to step in before this school year starts. 

The big issue is bathrooms: by federal law, Ashton can use the bathroom he identifies with but school officials want him to use the ladies bathroom.

Tuesday's motion says when he uses the men's bathroom he's "repeatedly pulled out of class, threatened with disciplinary consequences and school security staff are instructed to monitor and report on his bathroom use."

 It also says school administration "directed guidance counselors to give green wristbands to ash and other students...Presumably to help monitor their restroom use."

Court documents say Ashton's mom was shown these wristbands at the end of the school year and this picture was submitted with Tuesday's motion. 

The lawsuit alleges these wristbands will be used in the coming school year and that Ash's mental and physical health has already been affected by the thought of wearing them.

In a statement he told us "I am really anxious about returning to school this fall after the harassment and stigma I experienced last year from school administrators,"

Kenosha Unified School District issued this statement in response to our request for an interview: