Department of Education Won’t Investigate Trans Bathroom Complaints

Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the U.S. Department of Education announced they will not be investigating claims made by trans students that they were denied access to the restrooms that match their genders.

In an interview with Buzzfeed News,  DoE spokeswoman Liz Hill basically said that bathroom discrimination is OK.

“In the case of bathrooms, however, long-standing regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX,” she claimed, in relation to the fact that bathrooms are the one place not protected in schools.

This is even more disappointing, given that a trans teen in Wisconsin recently won a lawsuit granting him the right to use the men’s bathroom, and certain states are granting trans protections. The Wisconsin suit should have won some federal protections for trans students under Title IX, the discrimination clause, but it appears that the Department of Education is choosing not to interpret it that way.

Many civil rights activists spoke out against this injustice and the lack of respect trans folks are facing in schools:

The courts have already held that discriminating against transgender students violates Title IX.

The Trump administration may abdicate their obligation to trans students and their families, but we at the ACLU will not. https://t.co/6xEGJm5WYB

— ACLU (@ACLU) February 12, 2018

Just in, the latest attack on #LGBTQ protections by the @realDonaldTrump administration. https://t.co/UD0Qyhbyv9

— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) February 12, 2018

This is definitely a major blow against the trans community. Schools can help by making sure they have a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination, and allowing students to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with.