Transgenders face bathroom bias

White House overturns protections for transgender students at public schools

Washington, Feb. 23: The White House on Wednesday overturned protections for transgender students that required public schools to allow them to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching the gender with which they identify.

With the move, President Donald Trump — who hinted during his campaign that he might protect LGBT rights — has sided with conservatives on a issue at the centre of a broader cultural battle between conservatives and liberals.

By lifting rules issued by the Obama administration — interpreting Title IX, the federal law banning sex discrimination in schools, to include gender identity — the Trump administration is leaving it up to states and school districts to decide if students should have access to bathrooms that do not reflect their sex.

In a letter to schools, the White House said the existing guidance did not “contain extensive legal analysis or explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal public process.”

The decision comes after a ‘disagreement’ over the language between attorney general Jeff Sessions, an opponent of the LGTB rights, and education secretary Betsy DeVos, a supporter of LGBT rights.

Ms DeVos said, “The department’s Office for Civil Rights remains committed to investigating all claims of harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools.”

A furious Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said withdrawing “the historic guidance from” the Obama administration to protect transgender students is “a cruel blow” to an already vulnerable group of young people. Senator Ben Cardin wished that the administration would have considered the mental and physical wellbeing of the transgender students being targetted by this action.