Supreme Court could decide transgender case. Or not.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Both the transgender teen who sued to use a boys' bathroom and the Virginia school board that won't let him still want the Supreme Court to issue a definitive ruling in their ongoing dispute, even after the Trump administration retreated from an Obama-era policy on bathroom use.

The big issue for both sides is whether the main federal law barring sex discrimination in education protects high school senior Gavin Grimm and other transgender students.

The appeals court that sided with Grimm relied on the Obama administration's reading of the anti-discrimination law and an Education Department regulation to hold that Grimm should be allowed to use a restroom that conforms to his chosen gender.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos expressed reluctance to rescind protections for transgender students and clashed with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who supported it, according to a person familiar with the conversations but not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions and so requested anonymity.

After Wednesday's the announcement, DeVos released her own statement, stressing that the administration had a "moral obligation" to protect LGBT students, which she said was "not only a key priority for the department, but for every school in America."

"If I were a justice on the court, my inclination would be to say that I'd much rather be reviewing a lower court opinion that looked at the Title IX question," said Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Adler.