White House rescinds Obama transgender toilet policy.
The Trump administration has rowed back on transgender protection measures introduced by his predecessor Barack Obama in a move that has outraged LGBT campaigners.
In a joint decision by the Department of Justice and Education, the administration said it fell to states to decide whether students who had undergone a sex change could use toilets correlating to their gender identity.
Last May the Obama administration issued guidance directing schools to allow students to use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity. The move followed a decision by North Carolina to prohibit transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice, a move that prompted dozens of companies to withdraw investment from the state.
Though the guidance was not legally-binding, the Obama administration threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that did not comply.
The Trump policy reversal comes ahead of a Supreme Court decision over the rights of a Virginia transgender boy, Gavin Grimm, who was denied the use of the men’s room at his high school.
At issue is a federal law known as Title IX, which outlaws sex-based discrimination in education, but it is not clear if that extends to a person’s gender identity.
Announcing the decision to withdraw former president Obama’s guidelines, attorney General Jeff Sessions said the previous administration’s reasoning “did not contain sufficient legal analysis or explain how the interpretation was consistent with the language of Title IX.”
In addition, it fell to the states to address these issues, rather than the executive branch, he said.
Since the issuance of the guidance last year, approximately half of the 50 US states have appealed the decision which has divided American society.
The decision was communicated to schools in a two-page letter, sent jointly by the departments of justice and education, and represents the first major policy move by the new attorney general since his confirmation last week.
Education secretary, Betsy DeVos said in a statement that she believed that the issue was “best solved at the state and local level.” She also said that her department “remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools.”
While the measure signals a significant policy shift on a highly contentious social issue, some analysts predicted it would have minimal effect in practice as a federal appeals court had already suspended former president Obama’s order on the back of a case brought by 13 states and ahead of the expected Supreme Court judgment.
The Trump administration has rowed back on transgender protection measures introduced by his predecessor Barack Obama in a move that has outraged LGBT campaigners.
In a joint decision by the Department of Justice and Education, the administration said it fell to states to decide whether students who had undergone a sex change could use toilets correlating to their gender identity.
Last May the Obama administration issued guidance directing schools to allow students to use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity. The move followed a decision by North Carolina to prohibit transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice, a move that prompted dozens of companies to withdraw investment from the state.
Though the guidance was not legally-binding, the Obama administration threatened to withhold federal funding from schools that did not comply.
The Trump policy reversal comes ahead of a Supreme Court decision over the rights of a Virginia transgender boy, Gavin Grimm, who was denied the use of the men’s room at his high school.
At issue is a federal law known as Title IX, which outlaws sex-based discrimination in education, but it is not clear if that extends to a person’s gender identity.
Announcing the decision to withdraw former president Obama’s guidelines, attorney General Jeff Sessions said the previous administration’s reasoning “did not contain sufficient legal analysis or explain how the interpretation was consistent with the language of Title IX.”
In addition, it fell to the states to address these issues, rather than the executive branch, he said.
Since the issuance of the guidance last year, approximately half of the 50 US states have appealed the decision which has divided American society.
The decision was communicated to schools in a two-page letter, sent jointly by the departments of justice and education, and represents the first major policy move by the new attorney general since his confirmation last week.
Education secretary, Betsy DeVos said in a statement that she believed that the issue was “best solved at the state and local level.” She also said that her department “remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools.”
While the measure signals a significant policy shift on a highly contentious social issue, some analysts predicted it would have minimal effect in practice as a federal appeals court had already suspended former president Obama’s order on the back of a case brought by 13 states and ahead of the expected Supreme Court judgment.
