Eleven states, led by Texas, filed a document [text, PDF] in federal court Thursday to withdraw a lawsuit [text, PDF] against the US government, a week after a Dear Colleague letter [text, PDF] from the Department of Justice [official website] overturned Obama-era guidance regarding bathroom use by transgender students. The lawsuit, which was first filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas [official website], sought injunctive relief against the Obama administration’s guidance [text, PDF], which allowed from transgender students at public schools to use the bathroom that corresponded with their gender identity, rather than their sex at birth. A federal judge granted [order, PDF] the plaintiff states’ motion for relief in August, saying the order should be barred while the lawsuit continued.

These developments come as the US Supreme Court [website] is set to hear arguments [JURIST report] in March in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G. [SCOTUSblog materials]. The case involves a Virginia school board’s decision requiring students to use the restroom according to their gender at birth. In a related matter, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper recently proposed a compromise [JURIST report] to repeal HB2, also known as the “bathroom bill,” which contains similar requirements for public restrooms.