Last month, the Trump Administration decided to rescind the guidance put in place by Obama in May 2016, which allowed transgender students in public schools to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that coincide with the gender they identify.
The federal law affected by this policy shift, known as Title IX, is a preexisting civil rights law that protects students from discrimination based on their sex. The additions made by the Obama Administration were put in place to clarify the inclusion of transgender students and to urge schools to treat students equally and in a way that is consistent with their gender identity.
The new letter says that the Obama Administration’s guidance was issued without undergoing a formal public review and by rescinding it, the Education and Justice Departments will be able to “further and more completely consider” the controversial issue.
According to a report from the New York Times, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos argued against withdrawing the guidance, and resisted signing the new letter, stating that she was “uncomfortable” with “the potential harm that rescinding the protections could cause transgender students.” Trump, however, was reported by the Times to side with Attorney General Jeff Sessions who pushed dropping the guidance.
When the Obama-era guidance was put in place nearly a year ago, Trump seemed to have a different opinion. In response to the passing of the North Carolina Law that stated that people had to use the bathroom that corresponded to their gender at birth, Trump stated “You leave it the way it is.”
Weighing in on the economic backlash caused by the North Carolina Law, he stated “There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble. And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic punishment that they’re taking.”
The retraction of the guidance has caused a civil rights uproar, leaving many feeling like the law is no longer on their side. A written statement from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said that “By rescinding the guidance today, the Trump administration has taken the opposite stance. They have sent a deeply troubling message to students that the administration will not stand up for students’ civil rights.” According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, about 150,000 young people ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender and will be affected by this.
The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights went on to say that they “condemn the administration’s decision, vow to fight to enforce Title IX, which continues to protect transgender students, and call on individual schools and districts to treat students consistent with their gender identity and consistent with the rescinded guidance that accurately explained the law.”
Mike Marten, a Computer Science Major at Bucks said that while the retraction of the law “doesn’t really affect him” he feels that it is “unfair” to students who do face the day to day struggle with gender standards getting in the way of gender identities.
A fellow student, Megan Gallagher, 19, pursuing a psychology degree agreed that this is simply “unfair” pointing out that “women use the men’s bathroom all the time when the line is too long.”
The current letter has stated that transgender people will still be protected from “discrimination, bullying, or harassment” under Title IX and the two departments are “committed to the application of Title IX and other federal laws to ensure such protection.”
The director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts and coordinator of the Trans Policy Clearinghouse at Campus Pride, Genny Beemyn, hopes that colleges will continue to enhance their protection of transgender students noting, “There’s nothing that prevents colleges from putting in place all of the suggestions” in the Obama administration’s guidance. According to Beemyn, “It’s going to be much more of a free-for-all. And I think you’re going to see many more efforts to repeal state laws that protect trans people on the basis of gender identity.”