In an important procedural victory for the Gloucester County School Board, the Supreme Court today issued an order (without any recorded dissent) that vacates the Fourth Circuit’s (unsound) judgment in G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board and remands the case to the Fourth Circuit “for further consideration in light of the guidance document issued by the Department of Education and Department of Justice on February 22, 2017.” That guidance document is available here.
What this means is that the Fourth Circuit’s badly confused ruling has been wiped out: It is no longer binding precedent in the Fourth Circuit, nor should it be cited by any other court.
Let’s hope that the Fourth Circuit panel does a better job on remand (or that G.G.’s imminent graduation moots the case).