Lawsuit: School official harassed trans teen in bathroom

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. – A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a West Virginia transgender student who said an assistant principal harassed him when he tried to use the boys’ bathroom.

The American Civil Liberties Union announced the lawsuit against the Harrison County Board of Education in a news release Wednesday.

The statement says the district has failed to create a safe school environment for teenager Michael Critchfield.

The ACLU says an assistant principal followed Critchfield into the boys’ bathroom in November at Liberty High School and said, “You freak me out.” Critchfield says he also was ordered to prove his gender by using a urinal. He was 15 at the time.

ACLU state legal director Loree Stark calls the lawsuit “a last resort.”

Assistant county schools superintendent James Lopez did not immediately return a telephone message.