{"id":90860,"date":"2017-02-22T21:46:08","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T02:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=90860"},"modified":"2017-02-22T21:46:08","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T02:46:08","slug":"trump-administration-lifts-transgender-bathroom-guidance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/02\/22\/trump-administration-lifts-transgender-bathroom-guidance\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump administration lifts transgender bathroom guidance"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Transgender<\/a>
Transgender students on Wednesday lost federal protections that allowed them to use school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities, as the Trump administration stepped into a long-simmering national debate. (Photo: Carmelo Speltino\/ Flickr<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON \u2013Transgender students on Wednesday lost federal protections that allowed them to use school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities, as the Trump administration stepped into a long-simmering national debate.<\/p>\n

The administration came down on the side of states’ rights, lifting Obama-era federal guidelines that had been characterized by Republicans as an example of overreach.<\/p>\n

Without the Obama directive, it will 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 expressed gender identity and not just their biological sex.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an issue best solved at the state and local level,\u201d Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said. \u201cSchools, communities and families can find \u2013 and in many cases have found \u2013 solutions that protect all students.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a letter to the nation’s schools, the Justice and Education departments said the earlier guidance \u201chas given rise to significant litigation regarding school restrooms and locker rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The agencies withdrew the guidance to \u201cin order to further and more completely consider the legal issues involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-bullying safeguards would not be affected by the change, according to the letter. \u201cAll schools must ensure that all students, including LGBT students, are able to learn and thrive in a safe environment,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

It was not clear what immediate impact the change would have on schools, as a federal judge in Texas put a temporary hold on the Obama guidance soon after it was issued \u2013 after 13 states sued.<\/p>\n

Even without that hold, the guidance carried no force of law. But transgender rights advocates say it was useful and necessary to protect students from discrimination. Opponents argued it was federal overreach and violated the safety and privacy of other students.<\/p>\n

The White House said \u201creturning power to the states paves the way for an open and inclusive process to take place at the local level with input from parents, students, teachers and administrators.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reversal is a setback for transgender rights groups, which had been urging Trump to keep the guidelines in place. Advocates say federal law will still prohibit discrimination against students based on their gender or sexual orientation.<\/p>\n

Still, they say lifting the Obama directive puts children in harm’s way.<\/p>\n

\u201cReversing 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,\u201d said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.<\/p>\n

Activists protested the move Wednesday outside the White House. \u201cRespect existence or expect resistance,\u201d read one placard.<\/p>\n

Conservatives hailed the change, saying the Obama directives were illegal and violated the rights of fixed-gender students, especially girls who did not feel safe changing clothes or using restrooms next to anatomical males.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur daughters should never be forced to share private, intimate spaces with male classmates, even if those young men are struggling with these issues,\u201d said Vicki Wilson, a member of Students and Parents for Privacy. \u201cIt violates their right to privacy and harms their dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n

White House spokesman Sean Spicer denied media reports that DeVos, who has been criticized for her stance on LGBT issues, had opposed the change but was overruled by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Spicer said any disagreement was merely over wording and timing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no daylight between anybody,\u201d Spicer said, adding that DeVos was \u201c100 per cent\u201d on board with the decision.<\/p>\n

The Obama administration’s guidance was based on its determination that Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education, also applies to gender identity.<\/p>\n

The guidance did not sufficiently explain its interpretation of that law, Sessions said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress, state legislatures and local governments are in a position to adopt appropriate policies or laws addressing this issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Legal experts said the change in position could impact pending court cases involving the federal sex discrimination law, including a case to be heard by the Supreme Court in March involving Gavin Grimm, a transgender teen who was denied bathroom access in Virginia.<\/p>\n

The justices could decide not to hear the case and direct lower courts to decide that issue.<\/p>\n

In a phone interview with the AP, Grimm said of the Trump action: \u201cIt’s not positive. It has the possibility of hurting transgender students and transgender people. We’re going to keep fighting like we have been and keep fighting for the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

A patchwork of state laws could continue to emerge as a result of the change. Fifteen states have explicit protections for transgender students in their state laws, and many individual school districts in other states have adopted policies that cover such students on the basis of their gender identity, said Sarah Warbelow, legal director of the Human Rights Campaign. Just one state, North Carolina, has enacted a law restricting access to bathrooms in government-owned buildings to the sex that appears on a person’s birth certificate. Lawmakers in more than 10 states are considering similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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