Restroom win for transgender kids
Print Edition
PUBLIC schools in the United States must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity, according to a national directive issued amid a court fight between the federal government and North Carolina.
The guidance from leaders at the departments of education and justice says public schools are obligated to treat transgender students in a way that matches their gender identity, even if their education records or identity documents indicate a different sex.
“There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement accompanying the directive, which was sent to school districts yesterday.
In issuing the guidance, the Obama administration is wading anew into a socially divisive debate it has bluntly cast in terms of civil rights.
The Justice Department on Monday sued North Carolina over a bathroom access law that it said violates the rights of transgender people, a measure that Lynch likened to policies of racial segregation and efforts to deny gay couples the right to marry.
The guidance does not impose any new legal requirements, but officials said it is meant to clarify expectations of school districts that receive funding from the federal government.
Educators have been seeking guidance on how to comply with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding, Education Secretary John King said in a statement.
“We must ensure that our young people know that whoever they are or wherever they come from, they have the opportunity to get a great education in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence,” King said.
Under the guidance, schools are told that they must treat transgender students according to their chosen gender identity as soon as a parent or guardian notifies the district that that identity “differs from previous representations or records.”
There is no obligation for pupils to present 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 is consistently recognized in civil rights cases, the desire to accommodate others’ discomfort cannot justify a policy that ... disadvantages a particular class of students,” it says.
The administration also released a 25-page document on best practices, including ways schools can make transgender students comfortable in the classroom and protect the privacy rights of all students in restrooms and locker rooms.
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