The Obama Administration delivers the knockout punch in the Transgender School Bathroom Fight. The US Department of Education says public schools nationwide must now allow transgender students to use whichever bathroom matches their gender identity.
It is sending out a letter to school districts across the country today saying transgender students can use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, even if their birth certificate indicates something different.
Citing Title IX, the 1972 law that bans discrimination based on sex, the Department of Education says requiring transgender students to use same-sex facilities violates that law.
The Obama Administration says schools are prohibited from disclosing a transgender student's birth name or biological sex, and must change their gender on school records if requested to do so.
The Federal Government suggests schools can help transgender students by installing extra privacy curtains, or allowing those students to change when no one else is in the locker room.
Finally, while the guidance letter doesn't have the weight of the law, the Obama Administration makes it clear, schools who refuse to comply might be at risk of losing federal education funding. The letter is being sent out to all schools that receive federal funding including universities, colleges, and trade schools.
The guidance comes just days after fierce debate here in Lansing over transgender rights and bathroom policies.
Hundreds of people showed up at a Michigan board of education meeting this week to speak out on a proposal that would allow Michigan public school students to choose their own gender identity and use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with that identity.
The State Board of Education isn't due to make a decision until August, and said the policy would be voluntary for schools.
However, now that the federal government has stepped in, things could change, and we might hear from the State Board of Education much sooner than August.
