Domaine Javier says California Baptist University (CBU) kicked her out of school for being transgender. The school says they gave her the boot because she lied on her application form by saying she was female.

They will settle the matter in court.

Javier’s lawyers, Paul Southwick and Timothy Volpert of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP of Portland, Oregon, filed suit Monday in Superior Court of California, Riverside County, for breach of contract and violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act. They are asking for $500,000, roughly equivalent to the subsidies and scholarships she will now lose.

Javier transferred to Cal Baptist to take nursing classes after completing her core requirements at Riverside City College in 2011. She was voted valedictorian of her high school class and was elected homecoming queen at the city college before transferring.

She appeared on MTV’s reality show “True Life” in April 2011, where she revealed her transgender identity. The show’s episode was called “I’m Passing as Someone I’m Not.” Cal Baptist expelled her in July.   

The school denied it kicked her out for being transgender. They said she lied on the application when she marked “Female” for gender. Although Javier, 25, was born a male, her suit maintains that she didn’t lie about her gender identity because she has identified as female since early childhood.

The Christian Post quotes Javier’s lawsuit as also arguing that, “CBU may believe that because it is a private, religiously affiliated institution, it has the right to expel transgender people without having to pay for the damages it has caused. . . . Domaine followed all the university's rules and did not violate any university policies, so she should be treated like any other student.”

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

Cal Baptist Sued by Expelled Transgender Student (by David Olson, Riverside Press-Enterprise)

Expelled Transgender Student Files Suit (by Bob Allen, Associated Baptist Press)

Domaine Javier Came Out as Trans on MTV, so Her Baptist University Expelled Her (by Daniel Villarreal, Queerty)

California Baptist University Sued by Expelled Transgender Student (by Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post)