by Rachel Ogbu

James Spencer, 16, a transgender student from Canada has allegedly been barred from using the men’s restroom at school because he was born a girl.

His school’s administration denied him access to the school’s facilities and referred him to the fast food restaurant down the street, reports claim.

Spencer said later he was given permission to use a private bathroom under lock and key reserved for “janitor staff, kitchen staff and students with medical disabilities.”

“I felt like they were saying that to be transgender there’s something wrong and that transgender people need to be segregated,” he said.

However, officials at Durham Region’s Clarke High School insist they never told the teen to use an off-campus restroom.

According to the Torstar News Service, Spencer, who began transitioning from female to male in the 10th grade, was bullied at his old high school. Unable to cope with the strain, he moved in with his sister and enrolled at Clarke High School. But right off the bat, Spencer says, the school administration made it difficult for him to make a smooth transition.

However, the teenager says that there is a silver lining: His schoolmates have been supportive, and that, he says, has been extremely encouraging. Some students, for example, have taken to Twitter to express their support for Spencer.