WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a battle of competing views, President Donald J. Trump eliminated an Obama Administration rule aimed at protecting the right of transgender kids to use the bathroom of their choosing in schools. According to a report from POLITICO, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wanted to keep the directive, but Trump ultimately sided with the guidance of his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.
The Obama Administration Order issued in May required public schools to allow children to select their own bathroom based on their gender identity. Children would be allowed to use whatever bathroom, regardless of their birth certificate and the comfortably of their fellow classmates. President Obama then threatened schools with a loss of federal funding if they failed to comply with the mandate.
After the Trump Administration’s guidance letter was released, DeVos released a statement saying “We have a responsibility to protect every student in America and ensure that they have the freedom to learn and thrive in a safe and trusted environment.” She continued by stating, “This is not merely a federal mandate, but a moral obligation no individual, school, district or state can abdicate.”
Former Alabama Senator and Current AG Sessions strongly disagreed. In his statement, Sessions said that the Department of Justice is “committed to the proper interpretation and enforcement of Title IX and to its protections for all students, including LGBTQ students.” However, Sessions asserted “Congress, state legislatures, and local governments are in a position to adopt appropriate policies or laws addressing this issue.”
The Administration’s letter did not explicitly say that Title IX does not apply to transgender people, and 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 would have affected all of Alabama’s 1,637 public schools that service almost 745,000 children.
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