President Donald J. Trump and his administration have decided to retract the past guidance on transgender bathroom protections in public schools. The announcement was made through letters .0 from the Department of Education and Department of Justice on Wednesday.
The letters made the reversal of the administration's position on the issue to the Supreme Court as well as public schools across the nation, NBC News reported. The Obama administration previously instructed public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that were aligned to their chosen gender identity. This was issued as an interpretation of Title IX, specifically with the prohibition of sex discrimination in education.
Currently, though, the Trump administration has revoked the key guidance on the policy used as basis for transgender bathroom protections. The letter notified the court that the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division will not rely on the guidance anymore but instead will focus on the legal issues involved.
The issue on transgender bathroom protections has caused tension within the Trump administration, according to the New York Times. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is adamant in revoking the civil rights put forth by former President Obama while Education Secretary Betsy DeVos initially refused to relent because she was thinking about the potential harm that will be done to transgender students if the protections were retracted.
Sessions then took his proposal to the White House, seeing that DeVos would not relent and he needed her in order to be able to move forward. Republicans said that President Trump took the side of the attorney general and told the Education secretary to drop her opposition.
The Chicago Tribune noted that Betsy DeVos said that the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights will continue to examine discrimination in schools. However, she did concede that schools, communities and families can find solutions for the issue on transgender bathroom protections and access.
