WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s administration is shifting the federal government’s position away from its predecessor on yet another issue – whether public schools must let transgender students use the bathroom and locker room they prefer.
On Friday, the day after conservative Jeff Sessions was sworn in as U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Justice Department dropped an appeal of a Texas court injunction that blocked transgender students from using facilities that correspond with their gender identity.
The injunction was issued after several states challenged the Obama administration’s directive.
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Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group that pursues lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender causes, condemned Sessions’ action, saying he “signaled his intent to undermine the equal dignity of transgender students.
“Transgender students are entitled to the full protection of the United States Constitution and our federal nondiscrimination laws,” said a statement from the group’s president, Chad Griffin. “It is heartbreaking and wrong that the agency tasked with enforcing civil rights laws would instead work to subvert them for political interests.”
On Monday, the conservative Family Research Council said the Trump administration was right to “stop the legal defense of an indefensible edict that violates the rights of parents and the privacy of schoolchildren nationwide.”
“While this is a welcome first step, we are hopeful that the Trump administration will formally withdraw the Obama edict so that parents and schools will remain free to protect the privacy and safety of every student,” said the statement from Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.
On March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a related case that could resolve nationwide questions over facilities that transgender people can use. In that case, a Virginia school district sought court permission to avoid compliance with the Obama administration’s directive.
The state of Ohio has sided with the school district, joining a legal brief that argues the directive would force states to either relinquish control “over policies designed to protect student privacy and safety or else forfeit their entire share of $55.8 billion in annual federal school funds.”
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