White House to lift transgender guidance
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is revoking U.S. transgender guidelines, stepping into an emotional national issue and stripping students of federal protections to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching gender identities that differ from their birth certificates.
The administration is coming down on the side of states’ rights, revoking federal guidelines that had been issued by the Obama administration. Without the Obama directive, it will be up to states and school districts to interpret federal antidiscrimination law and determine whether students should have access to restrooms in accordance with their expressed gender identity and not just their biological sex.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Wednesday the current directive, issued in August, is confusing and hard to implement. An official with knowledge of the plans told the Associated Press that anti-bullying safeguards would not be affected by the change.
That official was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans and did so on condition of anonymity. Spicer did not say when the Trump administration action might actually come.
A federal judge in Texas put a temporary hold on the Obama guidance soon after it was issued — after 13 states sued.
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 argue it was federal overreach and violated the safety and privacy of all other students.
“The president has made it clear throughout the campaign that he is a firm believer in states’ rights and that certain issues like this are not best dealt with at the federal level,” Spicer said.
Conservative activists 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.
“Our daughters should never be forced to share private, intimate spaces with male classmates, even if those young men are struggling with these issues,” said Vicki Wilson, a member of Students and Parents for Privacy.
However, 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.
Still, they say lifting the Obama directive puts children in harm’s way.
“Reversing 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,” said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.