Hunter
04/02/25
A transgender parent who filed suit to challenge an Iowa City Community School District policy determining bathroom use based on biological sex has dropped their suit.
The lawsuit was filed against the Iowa City school district in February by Finn Meadows, whose child attends Liberty High School in North Liberty. Meadows, who identifies as a man, was denied access to a boy’s restroom.
The District’s policy follows a state law enacted last year — colloquially known as the “bathroom bill” — that bars transgender students and others from using a gender-specific school bathroom that aligns with their gender identities but not their sex assigned at birth. Legislators recently eliminated gender identity as a protected class in Iowa.
The Gazette reports Meadows, in a complaint last year to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, said he had used men’s public restrooms for about 17 years before school officials told him by phone that he “was no longer allowed to use the men’s restroom in school facilities.”
The commission did not determine his civil rights were violated, but said he could file a lawsuit, which he did in February.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, whose office joined in the suit this week, labeled the dismissal as a win for her office. In a statement, she said, “This victory is reassurance for parents that grown adults won’t be allowed to use the wrong bathrooms at their children’s schools.”
A reason that Meadows dropped the lawsuit wasn’t revealed.