NEVER TOLERATE TYRANNY!....Conservative voices from the GRASSROOTS.

US gives directive to schools on transgender bathroom access...this is not the "dream" of Martin

" I had a dream "

"...It wasn't this"

Loretta Lynch, Vanita Gupta

WASHINGTON (AP) — Public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, according to an Obama administration directive issued amid a court fight between the federal government and North Carolina.

The guidance from leaders at the departments of Education and Justice says public schools are obligated to treat their transgender students in a way that matches their gender identity, even if their education records or identity documents indicate a different sex.

“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 in a statement.

The directive is contained in formal guidance being sent to school districts Friday.

It does not impose any new legal requirements, but federal officials say it’s meant to clarify school districts’ obligations to educate students in nondiscriminatory environments. Educators have repeatedly sought guidance on how to comply with Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in institutions that receive federal funding, Education Secretary John B. King said 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,” King said.

The move was cheered by Human Rights Campaign, a gay, lesbian and transgender civil rights organization, which called the guidelines “groundbreaking.”

The guidance comes days after the Justice Department sued North Carolina over a new state law that says transgender people must use public bathrooms, showers and changing rooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate. The administration has said the law violates the Civil Rights Act.

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has argued that the state law is a “commonsense privacy policy” and that the Justice Department’s position is “baseless and blatant overreach.” His administration also filed a lawsuit Monday against the federal government.

UPDATE:

Straight into the paper shredder

Texans the first to decry Obama’s school directive about transgender bathrooms

White House Fires Back at Texas Lt. Governor

After a day of absorbing barbs — including an accusation of blackmail — from top officials in Texas, the White House counter-punched while adding clarity to President Barack Obama's controversial public school bathroom directive that was disseminated Friday. Politico reports that earlier in the day, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told reporters "we will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States." The White House was not amused. "I think this does underscore the risk of electing a right-wing radio host to elected statewide office," press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at the daily briefing, Politico reported. At issue is Obama's demand that public schools nationwide allow...After a day of absorbing barbs — including an accusation of blackmail — from top officials in Texas, the White House counter-punched while adding clarity to President Barack Obama's controversial public school bathroom directive that was disseminated Friday.

Politico reports that earlier in the day, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told reporters "we will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States." The White House was not amused. "I think this does underscore the risk of electing a right-wing radio host to elected statewide office," press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at the daily briefing, Politico reported. At issue is Obama's demand that public schools nationwide allow

transgender students to use facilities with which they identify vs. the gender listed on their birth certificate.

Earnest stressed that the directive is merely guidance for school districts that are starved for advice, and that it adds no new requirements to state law.

"And the challenge here is not to isolate anybody, it's not to discriminate against anybody, it's not to make anybody unsafe," Earnest said. "It's actually to ensure that our schools are as inclusive and respectful and safe as they can possibly be," Politico reported.

However, it does carry the threat of lawsuits or revocation of federal funds if not followed. Earnest doesn't think it will come to that, saying he anticipates most schools would "welcome this advice and implement it."

That might not be the case in some parts of Texas, where one superintendent on Friday said, "That letter is going straight to the paper shredder."

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" CHANGE "