Department Of Education Issues Decree Protecting Transgender Students

It's been a great week for the American trans community thanks to the attorney general's declaration that they and the Obama Administration will do everything possible to protect trans Americans going forward, and we have even more evidence of this morning.

The Department of Education this morning is issuing a directive in a letter signed by officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Justice's Vanita Gupta  that states all public schools across the nation must be allowed to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity.

The letter will also state that under federal law a school's obligation to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex requires schools to provide transgender students equal access to educational programs and activities even in circumstances in which other students, parents or community members raise objections or concerns..

'As is consistently recognized in civil rights cases, the desire to accommodate others discomfort cannot justify  a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class of students.'

“No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus,” said Secretary of Education  John B. King Jr.in a statement. “We must ensure that our young people know that whoever they are or wherever they come from, they have the opportunity to get a great education in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence.”

the decree does not have the force of law, but schools that continue to discriminate against transgender students may face loss of federal funding.