A federal judge late Sunday blocked the Obama administration from taking any action that would force public schools to allow students the choice of bathrooms that match their gender identity.
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The U.S. Department of Education issued a directive in May instructing schools to not discriminate on the basis of gender identity and allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that they feel most comfortable within.
“We, as states and counties and school districts, have the right to decide how we will conduct our business, and will not be told by Washington, D.C. what our community values must be.”
The facts show that one in four girls and one out of every six boys under 18 will be sexually assaulted.
It was not immediately clear if the Obama administration plans to appeal O’Connor’s decision.
The lawsuit and the new guidance pointed out that a school risks losing federal funding if it treats a trans student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity.
“The Obama administration’s efforts to re-write federal law without congressional approval have been, once again, rejected by a federal court”, said Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel.
“It can not be disputed that the plain meaning of the term sex” in that law “meant the biological and anatomical differences between male and female students as determined at their birth”, the judge wrote.
A Texas federal judge issued a nationwide order late Sunday, temporarily halting application of the Obama administration’s guidance on transgender students while a 13-state legal challenge on the issue, led by Texas, is decided.
Arkansas along with Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming joined Nebraska in challenging the administration’s policy in U.S. District Court in Nebraska in July, separate from the Texas case. Paul Castillo says it’s “a hard day for transgender students”. And together, Republican Texas leaders turned the feds’ attempt to provide a fair, comfortable and discrimination-free environment for transgender students at school into a fight over protecting non-transgender students’ privacy and safety. “That can not be allowed to continue, which is why we took action to protect States and School Districts, who are charged under state law to establish a safe and disciplined environment conducive to student learning”.
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Following milestone achievements in gay rights including same-sex marriage becoming legal nationwide in 2015, transgender rights have become an increasingly contentious issue in the United States. This unfortunate and premature ruling may, however, confuse school districts that are simply trying to support their students, including their transgender students.
