http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/obama-transgender-rights-schools-222922 Obama plans new push for transgender rights in schools
The White House is expected to insist that transgender students enjoy all the protections Title IX provides.
By Caitlin Emma
05/06/16 07:31 PM EDT
The divisive and politically combustible issue of bathroom access for transgender individuals is about to become further inflamed, as the Obama administration is expected in coming weeks to aggressively reinforce its position that transgender student rights are fully protected under federal law, sources told POLITICO.
With the Justice Department already locking horns with North Carolina over the state’s so-called bathroom bill, the administration plans to reaffirm its view that robust protections for transgender students are within the existing scope of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs and activities. Multiple agencies are expected to be involved.
It’s a step LGBT advocates have wanted the federal government to take for years. The legal protections include providing transgender students with not just access to bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity but also affording them protections from bullying, harassment and sexual violence, and a right to privacy concerning their transgender status and transition.
The building political war over transgender rights has drawn vehement protest from the right and exposed and exacerbated simmering tensions within the Republican Party — and proven to be an effective issue for Democrats to use to mobilize their base.
But a bigger legal battle could be looming.
The confrontation in North Carolina over the White House’s disputed interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 centers on a state law — passed by a Republican-controlled Legislature in a single-day special session — that requires transgender individuals to use a restroom corresponding with the gender listed on their birth certificate. The expected guidance will only increase the likelihood that Title IX is headed for a major legal battle — and possibly a case argued before the Supreme Court — to settle a patchwork of conflicting interpretations and challenges across lower courts and at every level of government.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/obama-transgender-rights-schools-222922#ixzz47vmg8M5q
