Governor to Ark. Schools: Disregard guidelines on transgender bathroom issue

Governor to Ark. Schools: Disregard guidelines on transgender bathroom issue

Directive ‘ offensive, intrusive’ says Hutchinson

ralphhardin@gmail.com On Friday, the Obama administration issued a directive to public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.

The announcement came amid a heated national debate over transgender rights in schools and public life, stemming largely from a legal standoff between the federal government and the State of North Carolina over a bill concerning with transgender bathroom access.

In a joint letter, the U.S.

Department of Education and Department of Justice sent guidelines to U.S. public schools with guidelines to ensure that “transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment.”

The letter does not carry the force of law.

“There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex,” Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. “This guidance gives administrators, teachers and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies.”

Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander weighed in on the guidelines.

“This is the kind of issue that parents, schools boards, communities, students and teachers should be allowed to work out in a practical way with a maximum amount of respect for the individual rights of all students,” he said. “Insofar as the federal government goes, it’s up to Congress to write the law, not the exec- utive departments.”

Justice and Education Department officials have repeatedly emphasized that under their interpretation of Title IX, the federal antidiscrimination law in education, schools receiving federal funds may not discriminate based on a student’s sex, including a student’s transgender status.

Arkansas Senator John Boozman blasted the move, saying, “This is a shameful overreach by President Obama to push his beliefs on Arkansans and all Americans. Threatening our schools with lawsuits or the loss of federal funding for failing to comply with this directive is the latest power grab by this Administration. I reject this attempt by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education to control our schools from Washington, and support Governor Hutchinson’s call for Arkansas school districts to ignore the blatant abuse of power by the President.”

Hutchinson did indeed advocate

disregard of the directive.

“The recent letter from the federal government providing guidance to Arkansas schools on gender identification is offensive, intrusive and totally lacking in common sense,” said Hutchinson. “There is no recognizable problem in Arkansas on this issue. The federal government is stirring the pot and meddling in the local control and administration of our schools. As Governor, I recommend that local school districts disregard the latest attempt at social engineering by the federal government and continue to use common sense to ensure a safe and healthy environment in Arkansas schools. While the letter implies federal money could be withheld, the letter is nothing more than guidance and is not legally binding.”

By Ralph Hardin