Trump rescinds transgender bathroom rules from Obama era

Risingbd Desk: The Trump administration has rescinded guidance enacted by his predecessor in favour of transgender students, the White House has said.

The Obama-era rule directed public schools to allow transgender pupils to use toilets of their gender identity.

But critics said that guidance was government overreach which threatened other students' privacy and safety.

A letter sent to US schools on Wednesday outlined the change, saying the Obama directive caused confusion.

It had also sparked lawsuits and debate over how it should work in practice, the letter from the Justice and Education departments said.

Last May, Mr Obama's justice and education departments instructed public schools to allow transgender students to use whichever bathroom corresponded to their gender identity.

Though not legally binding, Mr Obama's order warned schools they could lose funding if they did not follow the new guidance.

The change in guidance under President Trump will have no immediate impact on schools because the Obama directive was temporarily blocked by a judge in Texas in August.

The directive sparked a backlash across the country, prompting legal challenges from 13 states and a Texas federal judge's preliminary injunction blocking the department's position in August.

The Obama administration's guidance was based on its interpretation of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

Source: Agencies



Risingbd/Feb 23, 2017/Mukul