The U.S. Education Department will not investigate complaints by transgender students who are barred from entering the bathrooms and locker rooms designated for the opposite biological sex, a report says.
BuzzFeed News says it was informed by the education department of the new policy:
Liz Hill, a spokesperson for the agency, responded “yes, that’s what the law says” when asked again if the Education Department holds a current position that restroom complaints from transgender students are not covered by a 1972 federal civil rights law called Title IX.
Asked for further explanation on the department’s position, Hill said Friday, “Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity.”
She added that certain types of transgender complaints may be investigated — but not bathroom complaints.
“Where students, including transgender students, are penalized or harassed for failing to conform to sex-based stereotypes, that is sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX,” Hill said. “In the case of bathrooms, however, long-standing regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX.”
Anna Anderson, director of the Campaign Against Gender Ideology at American Principles Project, praised the reported move. In a statement sent to Breitbart News, Anderson said:
While no official rule has been issued by the Department of Education (DOE) regarding complaints filed by transgender students, we applaud the DOE’s recent public statement revealing their principle guiding which cases to investigate and which cases should be dismissed. The agency strongly stated that no students should be harassed or bullied over sex-based stereotypes, such as the way they dress or wear their hair. At the same time, the DOE has rightly determined that it is not discriminatory to provide students private facilities separated by sex, such as showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms.
Anderson added that “LGBT activists have spent the past few years demanding that the desires of one student should trump the fundamental privacy rights of all other students.”
“President Trump’s administration has chosen a much better route than his predecessor, maintaining the rule of law and allowing schools and parents to find solutions to the bathroom question that respect the rights and dignity of all students,” she said.
In January 2017, the Trump administration revoked former President Barack Obama’s directive that required school officials to affirm the claims of children and teens who say they identify with the gender of the opposite sex. The policy forced children in public schools across the country to share bathrooms and other private spaces with students of the opposite sex.
In 2016, prior to the Trump administration’s rescission of the Obama-era policy, a federal judge in Texas blocked the directive and applied the ruling nationwide.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to Twitter to condemn the report of the education department’s announcement:
.@BetsyDeVosED says she stands up for the rights of students — just not transgender students. #Transrights https://t.co/zuzbM6hlpo
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 13, 2018
Polls have shown the Obama-era policy has had the support of less than 25 percent of Americans. Nationwide, fewer than 1 in 2400 adults have changed their names from one sex to the other sex, according to a study of the 2010 census.
The U.S. Education Department did not immediately respond to Breitbart News’ request for confirmation and comment.
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