The Trump administration on Wednesday
rescinded Obama-era guidance on transgender students.
President Donald Trump reportedly
approved the plan to revoke guidance issued last year by the
Department of Education. The guidance, backed by the Department of
Justice, protected transgender students' right to use the bathroom
and locker room of their choice.
The Obama administration interpreted
Title IX rules, which prohibit discrimination based on sex, to
include gender identity.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer
hinted on Tuesday about the reversal.
“The president has maintained for a
long time that this is a states' rights issue and not one for the
federal government,” Spicer told reporters. “So while we have
further guidance coming out on this, I think that all you have to do
is look at what the president’s view has been for a long time, that
this is not something the federal government should be involved in,
that this is a states’ rights issue.”
Thirteen states led by Texas had
challenged the guidance, resulting in a nationwide injunction
blocking its enforcement.
“Our fight over the bathroom
directive has always been about former President Obama's attempt to
bypass Congress and rewrite the laws to fit his political agenda for
radical social change,” said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a
Republican.
The Supreme Court next month is
scheduled to hear a case involving a transgender teen from Virginia
who is seeking the right to use the bathroom of his choice at his
public school. The Obama administration had weighed in on the case,
arguing Title IX protection. Since much of he case rested on the
administration's argument, it's not clear how the high court will
react.
James Esseks, director of the American
Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) LGBT Project, said in a statement that
the move “shows that the president's promise to protect LGBT rights
was just empty rhetoric.”