Obama administration tells schools to allow trans kids to use gender-appropriate bathrooms
The Obama administration has instructed schools to allow transgender students to use a gender-appropriate bathroom.
A letter of guidance sent from the Obama administration today, says schools should allow students to use a bathroom consistent with their gender identity.
According to the letter, in order to receive federal funds, “a school may provide separate facilities on the basis of sex, but must allow transgender students access to such facilities consistent with their gender identity.”
The letter went on to clarify that while schools could provide single-use bathrooms to provide extra privacy, it could not segregate students to insist that trans students use only the single use facilities.
The letter also quotes Title IX, saying that students should not be required to provide medical proof to a school, or documentation reflecting change of gender.
It says this should be the case “even in circumstances in which other students, parents, or community members raise objections.”
The letter was signed by officials from the Justice and Education departments.
“This is a truly significant moment not only for transgender young people but for all young people, sending a message that every student deserves to be treated fairly and supported by their teachers and schools,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said in a statement.
A battle is currently being waged over trans bathroom rights, as North Carolina is being sued by the federal government over HB2.
HB2 was passed in response to a local ordinance in Charlotte protecting the rights of trans students who use a gender-appropriate bathroom.
The state law, passed in a special session, bans trans people from using a gender-appropriate bathrooms and rolls back local laws protecting LGBT people.
The Governor of North Carolina Pat McCrory has said HB2 is a “common sense privacy policy”, and also suggested Congress should review the Civil Rights Act following the action against hist state.
McCrory’s administration countersued on Monday, filing a complaint against the federal government.
He said the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the state was a “baseless and blatant overreach.”
The US Justice Department sued the state of North Carolina on Monday, asking a federal court to rule that the law violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The Department said the state should stop enforcing HB2.
The Attorney General Loretta Lynch also threatened to withhold federal funding to the University of North Carolina system, which could be as much as $4.8 billion.
In response, Governor McCrory filed his own desperate lawsuit against the federal government yesterday.
In it, he named Ms Lynch, the head of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, Vanita Gupta and the Justice Department.
“We’re taking the Obama admin to court,” he wrote.
“They’re bypassing Congress, attempting to rewrite law & policies for the whole country, not just NC.
“Our lawsuit seeks to ensure that NC continues to receive federal funding until the courts clarify federal law & resolve this national issue.”
