School officials in Kentucky were seeking guidance Friday on an Obama administration directive that schools must permit transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity.
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This isn’t a law, but if schools don’t comply they could face lawsuits and lose federal funding.
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.
“We have fantastic school counselors and administrators who are now doing all that they can to address the needs of all our students, whatever those needs may be”, she said.
Texas’ Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News that his states “will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States”.
“Every individual district is going to have to decide what’s best for them”, he said.
They also said that district-wide they would take up the so-called bathroom issue at an upcoming meeting, but now they may not need to do that. There is no obligation for a student to present a specific medical diagnosis or identification documents that reflect his or her gender identity, and equal access must be given to transgender students even in instances when it makes others uncomfortable, according to the directive.
“As Governor, I recommend that local school districts disregard the latest attempt at social engineering by the federal government and continue to use common sense to ensure a safe and healthy environment in Arkansas schools”.
“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 to the newspaper. The subject of where transgender students may change has divided some of the student body at Fremd High School.
The guidance explains that when students or their parents, as appropriate, notify a school that a student is transgender, the school must treat the student consistent with the student’s gender identity.
“Guidance like this coming from the U.S. Department of education, I believe, provides greater clarity for school leaders who are grappling with this issue”, Eckes said. It explains that under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student’s sex, including a student’s transgender status.
Fellow student Monroe Hayoseck says many students will benefit from the Title IX guideline.
The guidance expands federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sex in public schools to include gender identity.
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Amity Chandler, the spokeswoman for Lee County schools, stated in an email that the district is reviewing the letter.
