LGBTQ+ groups file complaint over NC's new, so-called 'Parents' Bill of Rights'

Three LGBTQ+ groups have asked a local Title IX coordinator to stop implementing Senate Bill 49, also called the Parents' Bill of Rights by conservative supporters.

The law goes into effect on the first day of school in January.

In a complaint dated Tuesday, Youth OUTright, PFLAG Asheville and Campaign for Southern Equality asked the Buncombe County Title IX coordinator to stop the implementation of the law. The school board recently passed policy revisions that reflected the new state law. The groups are based in Asheville.

Many school boards are still deliberating changes to their policies before the law goes into effect.

The groups argue the law singles out LGBTQ+ students by scrutinizing them more than their heterosexual or cisgender peers. The law requires schools to notify parents if their child asks to be called by a different name or to use different pronouns. That could "out" transgender students to their parents, the groups have argued.

Title IX is a federal law that prohibits discrimination "on the basis of sex."

The groups are asking Buncombe County to stop implementation of Senate Bill 49 in the county until a federal complaint -- potentially affecting school systems across North Carolina -- can be resolved.

That complaint hasn't been filed yet.

But, according to the Buncombe County complaint, the groups plan to file the federal Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights in January.