The governor’s remarks come just hours after the Obama administration sent a letter to the nation’s schools that issued guidelines on how to treat transgender students.
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Schools should let transgender students use bathrooms, locker rooms and other sex-segregated facilities consistent with their gender identity, according to the guidance.
“It hasn’t been (an issue) for us at all”, said Tim Azevdeo, superintendent of the Anderson Union High School District.
“It almost defies belief that the Obama Administration now wants to direct how Oklahoma schools and districts operate our bathrooms”, Hofmeister said in a statement. That includes transgender bathrooms. Those protections apply to the transgender community, the federal government said.
In an effort to clear any misunderstandings, officials from the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice said public schools across the county are responsible for providing equal rights to transgender students.
The Obama administration is pushing for transgender rights following the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalising same-sex marriage in June previous year. “It is unconscionable to force upon tens of millions of American elementary, middle and high school students mixed gender bathrooms and changing rooms”, said Babin, adding that this is yet another reason why the “bloated and wasteful Department of Education should be dismantled and this unsafe agenda must be stopped”.
“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”, the guidance stated.
For example, Brighton School District describes in its policies how a transgender or gender non-conforming person should be treated in different situations, such as overnight trips, locker rooms, and sports.
After the Obama Administration released its guidance on transgender bathroom use in regards to public schools, KAGS got local reaction from two school districts and a local mom.
So far, Johnson said schools haven’t had any issues concerning the act and what it allows.
“I don’t think you’ll see any change in position unless the court system says you have to change position”, Christian said.
Fager, who was born as a female but identifies as a male, said that he was denied access to the men’s restroom at an area high school for months during his sophomore year.
Moreover, the letter also instructs school administrators to allow members of one biological sex to stay overnight in the same rooms or dormitories as members of the opposite sex, if the former identify as transgender. However students, parents, and guardians do not have to present specific medical diagnosis, documents, or identification that reflect the child’s gender.
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If schools don’t comply, they risk the loss of federal aid.
