President Obama will order all public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. The sweeping decree sent to all school districts will not be legally binding but those that do not abide by the new ruling could face lawsuits or lose federal aid.
The Obama administration will make the announcement on Friday in a move that could anger members of the Republican Party.
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,' she added.
Education Secretary John King Jr said: 'No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus.
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,' he added.
The Obama administration letter - signed by education and justice officials - will say schools may notrequire transgender students to have a medical diagnosis,undergo any medical treatment, or produce a birth certificate or other document before treating them according to their gender identity.
Schools will be allowed to offer bathrooms for students who wish to have 'additional privacy' but transgender children should not be forced to use them, ABC News reported.
While schools are permitted to offer single-use restrooms to students seeking "additional privacy," they should not require transgender students to use single-use facilities if their classmates are not required to do the same, the edict adds.
The move comes as the Obama administration and North Carolina battle in federal court over a state law passed in March that limits public bathroom access for transgender people.
By passing the law, North Carolina became the first state in the country to ban people from using multiple occupancy restrooms or changing rooms in public buildings and schools that do not match the sex on their birth certificate.
The controversial topic has split the Republican Party, with its presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump sitting on the fence.
He has previously said that he would welcome transgender people such as Caitlyn Jenner to use female restrooms at his Trump Tower in New York.
However, he said states should make the decision on the matter - not the government.
After hearing Trump's words, Jenner went to Trump Tower and used the women's bathroom.
Before pulling out of the race for the White House, Ted Cruz said such a move 'opens the door for predators'.
'This is not a matter of right or left, or Democrat or Republican. This is common sense,' he said.
'It doesn't make sense for grown adult men, strangers, to be alone in a restroom with a little girl.'
Americans are divided over how public restrooms should be used by transgender people. A recent poll found that 44 per cent believe people should use them according to their biological sex and 39 per cent said they should be used according to the gender with which they identify.
Poster Comment:
Had enough yet ? The article mentions that Americans are divided over how public restrooms should be used. The percentage of those against as opposed to those for transgender indecency is likely 95% against ... the only people that could be for this sort of shit are either fags or paedophiles. The Muslim in Chief has over stepped his bounds at every opportunity ! I hope the push back is immense !