Trump administration on Wednesday revoked federal
guidelines which ordered that transgender students have the right to use
public school restrooms that matched their gender identity.
The
administration lifted the federal guidelines on Wednesday that had been
issued by the Obama administration back in May 2015.
It will now be up
to states and school districts to interpret federal anti-discrimination
law and determine whether students should have access to restrooms in
accordance with their preferred gender identity or their biological sex.
Officials with the federal Education and Justice
departments notified the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday that the
administration is ordering the nation’s schools to disregard memos the
Obama administration issued during the past two years regarding
transgender student rights. The Obama memos said that prohibiting
transgender students from using facilities that align with their gender
identity violates federal anti-discrimination laws.
The two-page “dear colleague” letter from the Trump administration, said
that the Obama directive needed to be withdrawn because it lacked
extensive legal analysis, did not go through a public vetting process,
sowed confusion and drew legal challenges.
The letter added that:
“Schools must ensure that all students, including LGBT students, are able to learn and thrive in a safe environment.”
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement that his department “has a duty to enforce the law”.
Sessions wrote that the Department of Justice remains committed to the
“proper interpretation” of the anti-discrimination law known as Title IX
but said deference should be given to lawmakers and localities. He
said:
“Congress, state legislatures, and local governments are in a position
to adopt appropriate policies or laws addressing this issue,” Sessions
said.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos agreed with the decision saying that is an issue:
“best solved at the state and local level. Schools, communities, and
families can find and in many cases have found solutions that protect
all students.”
DeVos also gave assurances that the department’s Office for Civil Rights
“remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination,
bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our
schools,” and she noted that she considers “protecting all students,
including LGBTQ students, not only a key priority for the Department,
but for every school in America.”
The decision drew immediate condemnation from gay and transgender rights
advocates, who accused President Trump of violating past promises to
support gay and transgender protections.
Advocates said the withdrawal of the federal guidance will create
another layer of confusion for schools and will make transgender
students, who are already vulnerable, more so.
“Attacking our children . . . is no way to say you support and respect
LGBTQ people,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National
Center for Transgender Equality.
Others said the practical effect on the nation’s schools would be muted,
in part because a federal judge already had blocked the Obama guidance
in response to a lawsuit from 13 states that argued it violated states’
rights.
The Trump administration’s move drew lots of approval from social
conservatives who oppose the idea that a student can identify as a
gender that differs from their anatomy at birth.
Vicki Wilson, a mother with a child in High school said she sympathizes
with children who have “difficult personal issues” to deal with, but
thinks that “young men shouldn’t be permitted to deal with those issues
in an intimate setting like a locker room with young women.”
School district officials in Palatine, bowing to federal pressure,
allowed a transgender girl to change in the girls’ locker room at her
school.
“No school should impose a policy like this against the will of so many
parents,” Wilson said during a news conference organized by the Alliance
Defending Freedom, a Christian legal organization.
The letter also puts Trump squarely in the middle of the civil rights
debate: Despite a flurry of activity in the early weeks of his
presidency, Trump had not previously waded into the issue of gay and
transgender rights.
Trump declined to sign an executive order last month that would have
dramatically expanded the rights of people, businesses and organizations
of faith to opt out of laws or activities that violate their religion,
such as same-sex wedding ceremonies.
Many took it as a sign that he would take a more liberal approach on gay issues than his Republican cohorts.
Advocates say federal law will still prohibit discrimination against students based on their gender or sexual orientation.
Still, they say lifting the Obama directive puts children in harm’s way.
‘Reversing this guidance tells trans kids that it’s OK with the Trump
administration and the Department of Education for them to be abused and
harassed at school for being trans,’ said American Federation of
Teachers President Randi Weingarten.