People gather outside of the White House in Washington during a protest against Donald Trump’s plan to rescind anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, on February 22, 2017. (Photo: Al Drago / The New York Times)
Yesterday, the Trump administration rescinded Title IX guidance on how schools could avoid unlawful discrimination against transgender students. The joint letter that rescinded the guidance, signed by Sandra Battle of the Department of Education and T.E. Wheeler II of the Department of Justice, claims the departments need to “more completely consider the legal issues involved.”
This move is damaging and cruel. It will endanger and hurt trans youth in their daily lives. It will feed the school-to-prison pipeline. Long term, it would exacerbate the already high rates of homelessness, unemployment and suicide in trans communities. Fortunately, Trump is far from the final word.
Why the Guidance Mattered
The most well known part of the now-rescinded guidance addresses bathroom access for trans students. The guidance improved safety and bathroom access by clarifying that schools may not prohibit trans girl students from using girls’ bathrooms, trans boy students from using boys’ bathrooms or trans students from using multi-occupancy bathrooms.
But that is not all it did. It also pointed out the following:
- Schools may not exclude students from school activities, like graduation, because they are trans.
- Schools may not punish students for not conforming to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity.
- Schools must give current and former students an opportunity to update their records with accurate name and gender information.
- Schools may not violate a current or former student’s privacy through disclosing the student’s trans identity to others.
The Trump administration’s joint letter rescinded the entire guidance, not only the portion about bathrooms.
The guidance mattered. It provided important clarity for schools on their obligations. Students,…