WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, President Obama announced that he would use the administration’s power over funding and advocacy lawsuits to coerce all public schools in the country to offer gender-neutral bathrooms.
“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 wrote in a statement released on Thursday.
Lynch claims that the new policy “gives administrators, teachers, and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies.”
According to Breitbart News, the letter informing schools of the new policy will inform districts that they must implement the “no-test” rule, wherein schools are prohibited to request evidence that a student is transgender.
The New York Times reported that the 25 page letter will detail “emerging practices that are in place in many schools around the country.” Those included installing privacy curtains or allowing students to change in bathroom stalls.
Those hoping that the GOP controlled Congress can stop the executive action are out of luck; the legislature already approved the federal funds through October, months before the Administration made its decision on transgender bathrooms.
Courts have yet to decide whether or not Federal Gender Discrimination laws apply to transgender individuals. Progressives assert that Title IX applies to those whose “gender-identity” does not correspond with their gender at birth.
Title IX states:
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
President Obama’s decision will affect all of Alabama’s 1,637 public schools that service almost 745,000 children.
The controversy of over gender-neutral bathrooms in Alabama began when Target adopted the policy at all of stores, prompting Alabamians to seek alternatives.
The city of Oxford passed an ordinance prohibiting such practices, but then rescinded it when threatened by the Ohio Valley Conference of the likelihood of losing its softball tournament.
