The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Wednesday that a Virginia school board can bar a ‘transgender’ student from using the boys’ restroom pending its decision to review an appeals court ruling, the Associated Press reported.

A girl who calls herself “Gavin Grimm” sued Gloucester County School Board in 2015 for not allowing her to use the boys’ restroom, citing sex discrimination. School board policy required students to use either the bathroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private single-stall restroom.

Grimm’s lawyers argued the policy violates Title IX, a federal law that bars sex discrimination in schools. The school board has argued that forcing it to let Grimm use the boys restroom raises privacy concerns and may cause some parents to pull their children out of school. (Click here for The Stream‘s legal analysis of the case.)

In April, 2016, a federal appeals court sided with Grimm, allowing her to use the boys’ restroom for the remainder of the school year. It said the federal judge who initially dismissed Grimm’s Title IX discrimination claim ignored a U.S. Department of Education rule that says “transgender” students must be allowed to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

That DOE “rule,” some argue, amounts to an unconstitutional rewriting of Title IX. On Monday, a group of House Republicans asked the Obama administration to explain its order, especially since the non-discrimination clause in the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act treats sex and gender identity as separate categories.

“Schools have a duty to protect the privacy and safety of all students,” said Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Jeremy Tedesco. “That’s a principle that numerous other courts—including the 4th Circuit itself—have upheld. Federal law specifically authorizes schools to have single-sex restrooms and locker rooms, as the judge who dissented from the 4th Circuit’s decision rightly noted.”

In today’s 5-3 decision in Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., the high court put on hold the lower court ruling, allowing the school board to follow the original case ruling that Grimm must use the bathroom that corresponds to her biological sex. If the justices agree to hear Grimm’s case, the order will remain on hold until the court makes a final ruling. If they deny the school board’s petition for review, an order requiring the board to let Grimm use the boy’s bathroom will be reinstated.

The school board will ask the Supreme Court to make a decision on the case by late August, when the court may decide to take the case for review. Five justices were needed to block the district court’s order. The court’s three conservative justices — John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito — were joined by Anthony Kennedy and David Souter.