New guidance from the Obama administration directs public schools across the country to allow transgender students to use the bathroom or locker room that matches their gender identity. “There’s an expectation that the only other people will be the same gender as they are and that’s the way we’ve been doing things for a long time”. Schools that do not comply risk losing federal funding.
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The Obama administration said this will ensure kids “attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex”.
Almost half the high schools in the 53,000-student Seattle district have gender-neutral restrooms, and students can also use the bathrooms in the nurses’ office, spokeswoman Stacy Howard said.
The head of policy for the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education says new recommendations on transgender student rights from the Obama administration are nothing new in the state. The McCrory administration launched a legal battle this week to defend the state law enacted in March that requires transgender people to use the bathrooms of their biological sexes – and promptly drew a countersuit from the Justice Department. “However, no student shall be required to use such a restroom because they are transgender or gender non-conforming”. While settling the complaint and accommodating the student, the district decided against adopting a districtwide policy on transgender students’ access to locker rooms or bathrooms.
Patrick responded to Friday’s directive at the Texas Republican Party Convention, where delegates this week are considering a new state party platform that says “homosexuality must not be accepted as an acceptable alternative lifestyle”. They will be able to focus on what’s really important: “getting an education”, he said in a statement.
The federal government and North Carolina are suing each other over the state’s law, which has sparked protests and boycotts from musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, and companies such as PayPal Holdings and Deutsche Bank.
“The challenge here is not to isolate anybody, its not to discriminate against anybody, its not to make anybody unsafe”, says White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.
We’ll continue to check in with the school districts and will let you know if there are any changes in policy. “Rock Hill Schools does not now have a policy specific to transgender students and situations at this time are addressed on a case-by-case basis”.
Batts told FOX 13 “the federal government is not recognizing that transgender people are the best ones to decide how they identify”. “We’re here for the students and the staff and to make them feel comfortable”, said Potter.
While supporters say the measure is needed to protect women and children from sexual predators, the Justice Department and others argue the threat is practically nonexistent and the law discriminatory.
One activist, Wayne Maines, has written about the implications of the North Carolina law, arguing that it endangers the safety of transgender people.
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“As a Christian, when I have my daughter coming to me asking why they want the boys to use the same restroom as her, it is a very hard discussion”, said Deborah Linder.
