What's Next for the Rights of Transgender Students?

President Trump's rescission of federal guidance allowing transgender students to use school facilities in accordance with their gender identity has sowed confusion  among schools struggling with how best to accommodate these students. The previous guidance, issued last May under President Obama, codified protections under Title IX prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education, saying these protections also extend to transgender students. By rescinding this guidance, the new administration effectively leaves such decisions to schools at the state or district level. According to Logan Casey of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, "The potential implications of this decision include a shifting patchwork of protections for transgender students ... and an increasingly critical Supreme Court case over the meaning of sex discrimination in America."

Accommodating transgender staff and students was also a hot topic at the 2017 NBOA Annual Meeting in Washington this week. Independent schools expressed overwhelming support for transgender students regardless of whether they receive federal funding, but a relative minority appeared to have developed official policies regarding facilities usage and other matters. 

Brookings (03/01/17)