Scott Inskeep, superintendent of Kettering City Schools in suburban Dayton, said the district has been allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their chosen identity, handling requests on a case-by-case basis.
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The decree to be introduced, offers guidelines on how to avoid discrimination against transgender students attending the school, however it isn’t a statutory law.
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released a joint letter of guidance Friday to public schools nationwide urging inclusion of transgender students, most notably transgender bathrooms.
While the guidance doesn’t carry the weight of the law, the letter does indicate schools should either fall in line or face loss of federal funding.
The letter came just days after the Obama Administration ordered North Carolina to repeal its law requiring people to use bathrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate. The guidance does not impose new legal requirements, but clarifies expectations for districts receiving federal funds.
Hillsborough County Schools already lists gender identity protection in its districtwide nondiscrimination policy.
In the Howard-Suamico School District, leaders work with students and families on an individual basis to make accommodations, said spokesman Brian Nicol. It guarantees that transgender students have the right to identify in school as they choose.
“President Obama, in the dark of the night – without consulting Congress, without consulting educators, without consulting parents – decides to issue an executive order, forcing transgender policies on schools and on parents who clearly don’t want it”, Patrick told 5NBC television, according to BCC. “It’s hard enough being a transgender young person without feeling like you’re not supported by your school”.
“Who simply seek to engage in the most private functions in a place of safety and security”, Lynch says, “a right taken for granted by most of us”.
“No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus”, Education Secretary John King Jr. said in a statement.
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“I don’t think the president has the authority by himself to make that decision”, he said. “At the end of the day, we have an obligation to ensure all students feel safe and can access to the same educational opportunities as their peers”.
