“The administration’s intimidation of local school districts with a federal directive that unlawfully ignores the role of Congress has forced half of the states in the nation to stand up against this radical social agenda”, said Attorney General Rutledge.
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At a hearing August 12, the first in the case against the federal government, a member of the Texas attorney general’s team told O’Connor that the federal government “usurped” the authority of states and schools by requiring that “sexes must be mixed” in “intimate areas” like bathrooms. The question of which bathrooms and locker rooms transgender students can use has comes up in a few Tennessee districts, prompting Slatery to join officials in Texas and 11 other states in suing the federal government.
The New York Times reports that a department spokeswoman, Dena W. Iverson, told the media only that the department was “disappointed” and looking into its options.
The ruling, issued late Sunday, temporarily blocks the controversial guidelines, which the administration has tied to Title IX, a law that prohibits discrimination in federally funded schools and education program based on sex.
A district court judge approved the injunction until the matter can be resolved in courts, preventing interruption of the school year.This news brings its own set of consequences for not only transgender students but shows just how much civil rights can be up for debate.
The nondiscrimination rule was proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in May. The use of public bathrooms has been a key element in the controversy.
State Attorney General, Wayne Stenehjem says the federal government should leave this issue up to the states.
This is not the first legal setback for LGBT activists attempting to have public schools blur the rules regarding gender specific restrooms and other facilities.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Mnday that the Obama administration is confident that its guidelines are legally sound, Reuters reports. Texas gets $10 billion in federal education funding annually. The Obama administration had argued that no such notice was necessary, because the letter was simply informing schools what courts and federal agencies had already determined.
Uselman also says that they have private bathrooms in schools that transgender people can use.
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The ruling “puts thousands of transgender students at even greater risk of marginalization, harassment, and discrimination as they return to school this fall”, HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow said in a statement.
