From Lambda Legal: Even for a bully like Trump, attacking children is a new low. Administration withdraws guidance for schools on what the law requires for transgender students
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Education today rescinded the Obama administration's 2016 Title IX guidance clarifying the rights of transgender students. Rachel B. Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest LGBT legal organization, released the following statement:
"We all know that Donald Trump is a bully, but his attack on transgender children today is a new low. The U.S. Department of Education's decision to withdraw guidance clarifying the rights of transgender students endangers the well-being and safety of children across the country.
"Trump's actions do not change the law itself—transgender students remain protected by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—but abandoning the guidance intentionally creates confusion about what federal law requires. The law bars discrimination — the new administration invites it.
"Betsy DeVos became Education Secretary just one week ago. At her brief confirmation hearing she publicly committed to protecting LGBT students — this harms them.
"Over the past week Donald Trump has attacked perhaps the two most vulnerable groups of children in America: transgender children and refugee children. While his Education Secretary was busy withdrawing protective guidance for trans kids, his Homeland Security Secretary signed memos that strip legal protections from children who arrive alone at our borders, seeking refuge.
"Now Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary DeVos give us sickening echoes of the racially segregated schools era by claiming that enforcement of this federal civil rights law is a 'states' rights issue.' This is not just a bizarre misunderstanding. We recognize that language. This is a cynical rejection of the federal government's responsibility to enforce federal law protections for vulnerable students.
"While the Trump/Pence administration wages its War on Children, Lambda Legal will redouble our efforts to protect transgender and other vulnerable kids. At Lambda Legal, we are already in court fighting for transgender students, and we are prepared to sue any school district that discriminates in the wake of the Trump administration's actions today."
ACLU Statement on Revoking of Title IX Guidance for Transgender Students & Impact on Gavin Grimm Supreme Court Case
NEW YORK — The Trump administration today informed the Supreme Court that they are revoking guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice that clarified that transgender students are protected from sex discrimination by Title IX, the federal law that bars gender discrimination. The guidance, which was issued last May, reiterated the rights of transgender students to use restrooms and facilities consistent with their gender identity.
American Civil Liberties Union LGBT Project Director James Esseks had the following reaction:
"Revoking the guidance shows that the president's promise to protect LGBT rights was just empty rhetoric. But the bottom line is that this does not undo legal protections for trans students, and school districts can and must continue to protect them and all students from discrimination. School districts that recognize that should continue doing the right thing; for the rest, we'll see them in court. We will continue to fight for the rights and dignity of transgender youth, especially now that the Trump administration has decided to turn its back on them."
ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Joshua Block, who is lead counsel for Gavin Grimm at the Supreme Court in March in the case Gloucester County School Board v. G.G., said:
"While it's disappointing to see the Trump administration revoke the guidance, the administration cannot change what Title IX means. When it decided to hear Gavin Grimm's case, the Supreme Court said it would decide which interpretation of Title IX is correct, without taking any administration's guidance into consideration. We're confident that that the law is on Gavin's side and he will prevail just as he did in the Fourth Circuit."
From Victory Institute: Presidential Attack on Transgender Students "Shameful"; LGBT Local Leaders Now Critical to Protecting Students
( Washington, DC )—Today, Victory Institute condemned the administration of Donald Trump for rescinding Department of Education and Department of Justice guidance protecting transgender students from discrimination in schools. In response, President & CEO Aisha C. Moodie-Mills released the following statement:
"In a shameful display of failed leadership, today President Trump succumbed to his extremist advisors and provided permission for schools to discriminate against transgender students. The move — while abhorrent — is unfortunately not surprising. Regardless of Trump claiming he would be a friend to LGBT people, the reality is personnel is policy. Trump is surrounding himself with anti-LGBT appointees who demonize our community and reject the notion of civil rights for LGBT people, making anti-LGBT policies almost inevitable.
While Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are blind to the needs of transgender students who want to safely attend school, fortunately the law is not. Most courts have determined Title IX protects transgender students, and now it is up to local leaders and school board members to enforce those protections regardless of anti-equality declarations from the White House.
LGBT local leaders and school board members are more important than ever — and will be the frontlines for defending the rights of trans students in classrooms and in their communities. But we need more of these leaders, which is why Victory Institute is doubling-down on efforts to build a diverse pipeline of LGBT future leaders who can fight for our youth and community. Now is the time for motivated LGBT leaders to run for office — for school boards, city councils and state legislatures — where policies affecting LGBT students are made. We need LGBT leaders to run for office and position themselves to make the change we must see."
The following statement is from David Dinielli, deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center:
"The Trump administration today showed a few more of its true colors, and they are decidedly not the colors of the rainbow.
"By rescinding federal guidance from the Departments of Justice and Education that helped to ensure equal educational opportunities for transgender students, the administration has contributed to the baseless hysteria and panic that puts so many vulnerable transgender youth at risk.
"But we don't need Jeff Sessions or Betsy DeVos to tell us whether these young people deserve protection. We know that they deserve protection, as well as equality and respect, and we know that Title IX and the U.S. Constitution demand it. We will continue to fight for transgender students in classrooms and school board meetings and courtrooms throughout the country, and we will prevail."
Equality Illinois Condemns Federal Action Overturning Transgender Youth Protections
CHICAGO—On behalf of the 53,645 stakeholders of Equality Illinois in Illinois, their resident friends and families and all who care deeply about issues of equality and fairness, Equality Illinois condemns the decision of the Trump administration to tear up the 2016 federal guidance protecting the civil rights and equal treatment of transgender youth in our public schools.
"We are outraged the Trump Administration would choose to target transgender children for discrimination. Rescinding the guidance letter sends a terrible message and invites personal bias to flourish in our public schools," said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois.
Equality Illinois reminds Illinois school districts that they should not feel free to adopt discriminatory policies despite the federal action. Title IX of the federal education law still protects transgender students, as most courts have agreed, and Illinois law prohibits discrimination in public places.
The state's largest LGBTQ civil rights organization also calls on the Illinois congressional delegation to stand up for transgender youth in Illinois and America by telling Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions to follow the spirit of federal law and affirm the dignity of all students in our educational system, including transgender youth.
"Illinois schools have a legal and a moral duty to support all students, including transgender students," Johnson said. "The Trump Administration's action is inconsistent with the Land of Lincoln's shared values of inclusivity, equality, and fairness. We are better than the discrimination and bias that will be visited on transgender students by the federal action."
Johnson said that Illinois protections for LGBTQ people include the Human Rights Act against discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and housing, the anti-bullying statute, and the ban on conversion therapy.
"The new federal policy sends the harmful and mean-spirited message to transgender students that they are not respected and valued in their schools, the very spaces where they should be safe and affirmed. School should be a place for learning and growing, not fear and being ostracized," Johnson said.
Transgender youth are more vulnerable to harassment and assault than their peers. According to the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey, 77% of students who are or perceived to be transgender report being mistreated in K-12 schools. That includes verbal harassment, harsher discipline than their peers, physical violence, and sexual assault. In fact, 17% of those in the survey reported such mistreatment that they left their K-12 school. That's wrong and a problem the guidance letter strove to correct.
Further, we know it is critical to the mental and physical health of transgender people that they be able to live according to their gender identity. Just last year, medical and mental health professionals dedicated to serving the best interests of all youth released a letter to the nation's governors regarding the dangers of anti-transgender student legislation. The signatories included the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, American School Counselor Association, Child Welfare League of America, National Association of School Psychologists, National Association of Social Workers, and National Education Association.
This is also a matter of affirming the civil rights of transgender students. Last July, 86 national civil rights organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, MALDEF, NAACP, Human Rights Campaign, and National Women's Law Center, sent a letter to then-Secretary of Education John King in support of the old policy.
GLSEN Statement on Reversal of Title IX Guidance on Accommodating Transgender Students
NEW YORK ( February 22, 2017 ) — Tonight, the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice rescinded the guidance issued by the Obama administration on accommodating transgender and gender nonconforming students under Title IX. GLSEN's Executive Director, Dr. Eliza Byard, issued the following statement in response.
"Supports for transgender students in K-12 schools change and save lives, and hurt no one. President Trump's reversal of federal guidance affirming Title IX protections in schools undermines the settled expectations and protections afforded by federal law, hurts transgender students and impedes the progress we have made creating safer and more inclusive learning environments for all.
"While the Trump administration may abandon transgender students, GLSEN won't. And neither will the thousands of teachers, administrators and parents around the country who work with GLSEN and our local Chapters to ensure that transgender students everywhere have the opportunity to simply be themselves and live better lives. Schools, leaders and teachers must do the right thing and give all students the chance in life they deserve.
"Research has consistently shown that transgender students are more likely to face severe violence and discrimination at school than their peers, and at greatly increased risk of suicide and self-harm as a result. GLSEN's National School Climate Survey has shown that 76 percent of transgender students felt unsafe at school simply because of their gender. We also know that transgender students who are allowed simply to be themselves at school are as healthy and happy and successful as their peers. Rescinding guidance designed to help schools help them makes zero sense.
"The administration's actions today do not and cannot change the well-established legal foundations upon which the federal Title IX guidance is based. Many federal courts have already determined that Title IX's prohibition on sex discrimination and the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection extend to transgender individuals. Fairly applied, the law remains on our side."
PFLAG National Statement on Rescission of Guidance Protecting Trans Students
WASHINGTON, DC—PFLAG National—the nation's largest organization uniting families, allies, and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer ( LGBTQ )—issued the following statement from Interim Executive Director Elizabeth Kohm regarding the Trump Administration announcement that they have rescinded the Title IX guidance issued by the Obama Administration for accommodating transgender students in K-12 schools.
"PFLAG hearts everywhere are with the worried parents who will be kept awake tonight, and the kids who will be scared to go to school in the morning. Tomorrow we will fight even harder for the protections that Title IX still affords all transgender youth across the country."
Civil and Human Rights Community Condemns Rescission of Title IX Guidance Clarifying Protections for Transgender Students
WASHINGTON — Today The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Center for Transgender Equality, GLSEN, the National Women's Law Center, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign, and MALDEF issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration's rescission of Title IX guidance, which clarifies protections for transgender students under the law:
"The U.S. Department of Education has a critical and well-established role in clarifying and enforcing civil rights protections for all students. The department has an obligation to ensure that all students have equal educational opportunities, a mandate that applies regardless of a student's gender identity. Transgender students who face discrimination in schools have worse educational outcomes, and poorer psychological well-being than their cisgender peers.
The guidance released by the Departments of Justice and Education last May clarified for school districts across the country that transgender students are protected under Title IX, an existing federal civil rights law that protects students from discrimination based on sex. The guidance presented best practices from schools across the country and advised schools on complying with the law. School districts received much-needed clarification that, under federal law, they must treat students equally and with dignity, consistent with their gender identity. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of transgender students received a clear message: the law was on their side.
By rescinding the guidance today, the Trump administration has taken the opposite stance. They have sent a deeply troubling message to students that the administration will not stand up for students' civil rights. We condemn the administration's decision, vow to fight to enforce Title IX, which continues to protect transgender students, and call on individual schools and districts to treat students consistent with their gender identity and consistent with the rescinded guidance that accurately explained the law."
From Center for American Progress: Trump Turning Blind Eye to Violations of Transgender Student Rights, Says CAP's Laura E. Durso
Washington, D.C. — Center for American Progress Vice President for the LGBT Research and Communications Project Laura E. Durso issued the following statement after the Trump administration rescinded guidance clarifying protections for transgender students from discrimination in schools.
President Donald Trump and his administration have a duty to uphold the principle of equal access to education for all students, but instead, they're choosing discrimination over basic civil rights.
No student should ever be denied the opportunity to learn because of their gender identity. The administration is sending the dangerous message that it will turn a blind eye to schools that violate transgender students' rights under federal civil rights law. Transgender young people have the right to learn free from harassment and discrimination and the rescinded guidance was a tool that helped schools address that discrimination. A month into his presidency with little to show for it, Trump should be focused on creating opportunity for all Americans—not denying it to transgender youth. This shameful, irresponsible action serves no purpose but to harm students' health, limit their opportunities for achievement, and deny them a fair shot to succeed in school.
Quigley: Trump Has Abandoned Promise to Protect LGBT Americans
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), who serves as Vice Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and was a founding member of the Transgender Equality Task Force, released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced their decision to rescind the Obama Administration's Title IX guidance protecting the rights of transgender students:
"As if being a kid wasn't hard enough, President Trump wants to make it even harder for transgender students who are simply seeking a safe and supportive school community where they can learn, grow, and thrive. The Administration's decision to roll back transgender student protections shows that President Trump is set on abandoning his campaign promise to protect LGBT Americans from discrimination.
"To worried transgender students across the nation, Democrats stand with you. All students, including those in the LGBT community, are protected by the Constitution and Title IX, regardless of this Administration's attempt to undermine equality and security for all. As Vice Chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus and a founding member of the Transgender Equality Task Force, I will fight with everything I have to protect transgender children from the shameful and despicable attempts to strip away their rights. Every American, regardless of gender identity, deserves to be treated with respect, and we will ensure that happens."
Title IX protects transgender students from sex discrimination, but the Obama Administration guidance provided schools with clarity on administering the policy and ensuring every student is protected under the law.
NEA reacts to Trump's plan to roll back protections of transgender students
Educators urge others also to double-down on protecting rights of our LGBTQ students
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is planning to release a new plan to rescind federal guidance to protect transgender students from discrimination. The National Education Association, the nation's largest labor union, reiterated its pledge to double-down on protecting the civil rights of our LGBTQ students and members.
Withdrawing the guidance does not change the law. As most courts have held, Title IX protects transgender students, and only courts, and ultimately the Supreme Court, can change that. Schools have a legal and a moral duty to support all students, including transgender students. In fact, states, school districts, and schools nationwide are supporting and affirming transgender students, and we believe they will continue to do so with or without guidance from the Trump administration.
The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia:
"Every student matters, and every student has the right to feel safe, welcomed, and valued in our public schools. This is our legal, ethical and moral obligation. The Trump administration's plans to reverse protections for transgender students by rescinding the Title IX guidance, is dangerous, ill-advised, and unnecessary.
"We reject this discriminatory plan because it is a drastic departure from our core values. We don't teach hate, we do not tell people how to pray, and we do not discriminate against people based on their religion, gender, or identity. Period.
"As the Trump administration threatens our students and our values, we will double-down on our efforts to protect our most vulnerable citizens, including our LGBTQ students and members. We urge more states, school districts, and schools to adopt protections for transgender students. We owe to our students because they need to see us take a bold stand against discrimination whatever form it takes."
Follow us on Twitter at @NEAMedia
From Chicago Mayor Emanuel on Federal Thransgender Policies
"While tonight federal protections for transgender students have been rolled back, I want to be clear that the City of Chicago's and Chicago Public Schools policies providing equal rights to transgender residents and students will remain unchanged. Chicago will stay steadfast in our commitment to fight for equality and against discrimination in all its forms."
In May 2016, Chicago Public Schools announced guidelines to support transgender students, employees and adults to ensure CPS schools are safe, welcoming environments for everyone in the school community. The guidelines ensured students have access to the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.
http://cps.edu/News/Press_releases/Pages/PR1_05_03_2016.aspx
In June 2016, the City of Chicago passed an ordinance to prohibit public accommodations like hotels, restaurants or grocery stores from requiring patrons to show a government issued ID upon request to access its facilities that are private in nature such as restrooms based on a person's biological category, his or her gender identity, or both.
www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/mayor/Press%20Room/Press%20Releases/2016/June/6.22.16ProtectResidentsfromDiscrimination.pdf .
From: American Library Association: ALA Strongly Protests Transgender Protections Rollback
[Added to online article on Feb. 24, 2017]
CHICAGO — Today American Library Association President Julie Todaro released the following statement strongly protesting the rollback of protections for transgender students in our nation's public schools.
"The Trump administration's decision to revoke important protections for transgender students couldn't conflict more with the library community's fundamental values and the principles upon which libraries are founded. Transgender students deserve the right to use restroom facilities that are aligned with their gender identity. On average students spend 6-7 hours per day at school, and every student deserves to learn in an environment free from discrimination. We believe this federal policy must be reinstated because it ensures that all students are treated fairly nationwide.
"ALA, its members, all librarians and library professionals are committed to diversity, inclusiveness, and mutual respect for all human beings, and we will work tirelessly to ensure full representation of all members of society.
"ALA provides gender neutral restrooms at our conferences, and we will not hold our large and economically impactful meetings in states where 'bathroom bills' have been passed. Our Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) division canceled one such program in North Carolina last year.
"We stand with our transgender members, colleagues, families and friends, and we fully support the work of our Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT), whose members continue to lead the fight to abolish intolerance for all of society.
"ALA will work closely with all of its partners for reinstatement of these protections as soon as possible."
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 57,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.
Related coverage at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Trump-removes-Title-IX-transgender-protection-natl-local-groups-respond-/58236.html .
