North Carolina parent sues school district over bathroom access transparency

Brandon Matthews, a father of a fourth-grader and a high-school senior in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, lodged a federal complaint after school officials declined to confirm whether a biological male could access the restrooms his children use. In May he wrote to both school principals requesting notification of any opposite-sex bathroom use, receiving responses that cited student confidentiality and offered no substantive answer.

Matthews subsequently sued the Cabarrus County Board of Education, superintendent Dr. John Kopicki, and the two principals, asking a court to order the district to disclose its bathroom and locker-room policies and to provide advance notice of any opposite-sex access. His attorneys, Nicholas Barry of America First Legal Foundation and Philip Thomas, contend the district’s silence infringes on Matthews’ free-exercise and due-process rights.

The lawsuit does not allege that a male has actually used his daughter’s bathroom, only that the policy is unknown. A preliminary-injunction request seeks a temporary ruling while the case proceeds. Cabarrus County Schools has not responded to inquiries.