Judge Algenon Marbley is a US District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio who was appointed to the position by Bill Clinton in 1997.

On Monday Judge Marbley rejected the Highland Local Schools case challenging the DoE rule on treatment of transgender students, ordering a transgender girl to be treated "like the girl she is."

Judge Marbley said the Highland Local Schools in Morrow County had failed to provide a persuasive argument that giving the student access to the girls’ restroom would jeopardize other students’ privacy or safety. He further ordered that Highland use a female name and pronouns in referring to the 11-year-old.

(S)chool districts that have encountered these very issues have been able to integrate transgender students fully into the academic and social community without disruption, and certainly without the doomsday scenarios Highland predicts, such as sexual predators entering an elementary-school restroom.

There’s “certainly no evidence” the student, referred to in court documents as Jane Doe, is likely to violate other students’ privacy or put their safety at risk when using the girls’ restroom.

--Judge Marbley

Joseph Weissman, an attorney for the student, says in a statement that the court has taken an important step in protecting the student’s rights.

Every student has a right to be free from discrimination and harassment while at school, and we are pleased the Court has taken this important step in protecting Jane Doe’s rights.

--Weissman

The school district, through its ADF mouthpiece, said it would be appealing the ruling.

Schools have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of all students, but the judge’s order today doesn’t allow the Highland Local School District to do that.

--Doug Wardlow, Alliance Defending Freedom

The Highland schools sought to block enforcement of a federal directive that public schools let students use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities, noting that they had provided alternative bathroom facilities for the student in the office. The office restroom is used by school personnel and other adults, and the child’s parents said using it was taking “a toll on her mental health.”

The federal guidance was the Democratic administration’s interpretation of how Title IX, a law against sex discrimination, should apply to transgender students. A federal district court in Texas has issued a sweeping preliminary injunction against enforcement of the regulations in a lawsuit filed by Texas and at least 11 other states.

However, Marbley said because Ohio wasn’t a party to that lawsuit and because Highland’s lawsuit began before its decision the Texas court’s action doesn’t apply in this case.