A transgender student in Maryland has reached a settlement with the school district that had blocked him from accessing the boys' locker room.

Max Brennan, 16, will have permanent access to the facilities at his school in St. Michaels under the agreement, announced on Monday.

The settlement comes following Brennan and his parents (above) sued Talbot County Public Schools after he was told to use a private bathroom or the girls' restroom to change for gym class, causing him to be late, and outing him as transgender to classmates.

U.S. District Judge George L. Russell III refused to dismiss the case, but also stopped short of issuing a preliminary injunction that would have allowed Brennan to use the facilities of his choosing, because he would not be enrolled in a physical education class until after the case could be decided "on the merits."

As Russell found the district had no clear legal reason not to treat Brennan like any other male student, citing Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, and because the school system acknowledged “the likelihood of liability” as a result of that ruling, an agreement was reached.

Superintendent Kelly L. Griffith told The Washington Post the board will make future decisions about locker room access “on a case by case basis in our school system based upon thoughtful discussions with students and their families.”

Griffith added that the board “recognizes that gender identity issues involve serious and important considerations for individual students and their families. We recognize that no two students are alike."

"I am extremely happy with the court’s decision, and think it is a great step in the right direction,” Brennan said in a statement. “I am hopeful that this case will not only help change policy for the better, but help the students who are bound to come after me."

"We hope this decision is a wake-up call for the Talbot County School Board” said Jennifer Kent, managing attorney with FreeState Justice, who represented Brennan, alongside the American Civil Liberties Union. “School systems in Maryland should know the law and should be protecting students who are transgender from discrimination, not singling them out for separate and unequal treatment.”

“Courts across the country have recognized that Title IX and the Constitution prohibit schools from singling out transgender students for different and discriminatory treatment,” said Josh Block, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project. “We will continue to fight on behalf of Max and other transgender students to ensure that these stigmatizing and harmful policies are a thing of the past.”