Outrage over Obama transgender directive to public schools

Strategy Room: Jessica Tarlov and Brian Morgenstern discuss backlash to Obama administrations letter telling public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms of their choice
(While most bloggers post their anger over this issue, I prefer to see it as a positive step. It will force more parents to admit that public schools are not a safe or smart environment for their children. -ed)

 

The Obama administration’s directive Friday that every public school provide transgender access — or face the loss of federal funds — drew swift and strong condemnation from conservatives, with one public official blasting it as presidential “blackmail.”

The administration’s directive — citing Title IX in telling schools to give transgender students access to all activities and facilities consistent with their gender identity — effectively touched off a national debate that could well extend into the next president’s term and reverberate through the courts.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest later defended the letter as “guidance” that was requested by schools across the country and said it “does not add any additional requirements under the law.”

This is a growing debate that has centered on the use of gender-specific bathrooms, and could extend well beyond that. It could be the biggest issue facing families and schools in America since prayer was taken out of public schools. It could open a Pandora’s box of related issues, from whether colleges would be forced to consider gender identity in student housing assignments to how administrators handle preferences for sports teams and locker rooms, and more.

The letter the administration sent to school districts was signed by officials at the Justice Department and the Department of Education. A copy was posted on the Department of Justice’s website.

While the letter does not have the force of law, it does warn that schools that do not abide by the administration’s interpretation of civil rights under the Title IX law may face lawsuits or loss of federal aid.

“There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement.

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