The Obama administration on Friday will tell schools and colleges nationwide they must allow transgender students access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
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Texas’ lieutenant governor says the state is prepared to forfeit billions of dollars in federal funding for public schools following an Obama administrative directive over bathroom access for transgender students.
Educators have been seeking guidance on how to comply with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding, Education Secretary John B. King said in a statement. “We continue to monitor and advise schools and districts on discriminatory issues to ensure compliance with Title IX and all other federal requirements”.
This guidance comes after the controversial North Carolina bathroom bill which is now being legally challenged.
“RPS follows all legislation required of public schools, including Title IX”, and pointed to School Board Policy 522, Student Sex Nondiscrimination, which protects students from discrimination based on sex under the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Minnesota Human Rights Act. It won’t be a new federal law, but will instead reflect the Obama administration’s interpretation of existing federal anti-discrimination law.
A new directive from the Obama administration is causing controversy in schools throughout the nation.
“We dealt with the issue in the fall and we’ve been following the policy”, said Troy City Schools Superintendent Eric Herman. It guarantees that transgender students have the right to identify in school as they choose.
“As is consistently recognized in civil rights cases, the desire to accommodate others’ discomfort can not justify a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class of students”, reads the letter, which was obtained by The Washington Post. Students are allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, he said, although some have requested more neutral facilities. If public schools and/or local school districts do not comply, there would be a review process before the federal government chose to withhold funds.
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“I don’t think they should be allowed, like for a girl, i don’t think a boy should be going to a girl’s bathroom cause they need their privacy”, said Duster Craven, High School Junior. It’s not a mandate, but it’s meant to offer some suggestions of what’s worked and what other districts might want to copy.
