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Click here to thank the Obama Administration for standing with transgender students.‍

Today the Obama Administration’s Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Justice (DOJ) signed a groundbreaking letter that was sent to public schools directing them to embrace transgender students by allowing them to participate fully and use the facilities that match the gender they live every day. Accompanying the letter is a 25-page guide of best practices to ensure all students, including transgender students, have a fair opportunity to succeed in school.

Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation said, “This is a monumental moment for transgender youth and all transgender people and their families. This guidance has the potential to save the lives of students who are far too often excluded from being able to be their authentic selves at school creating extraordinary barriers in their path to success. We extend our deepest thanks to the Obama Administration for boldly standing up for all students, including transgender students, at a time when certain politicians are spreading dangerous misinformation and fear-based messages about transgender people in order to advance a discriminatory agenda.”

According to a copy of the letter provided to the New York Times, it instructs, “A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so.”

Further, it states, “As is consistently recognized in civil rights cases, the desire to accommodate others’ discomfort cannot justify a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class of students…”.

In a 2013 agreement between the U.S. Justice Department and Arcadia school district in California the DOJ determined that the school had violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by denying a transgender boy access to facilities designated for boys. Since then, the DOJ has issued several directives to schools and colleges instructing them to follow the law. Recently, in light of anti-LGBTQ law HB2, the DOJ sued North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, the state Department of Public Safety, the University of North Carolina system, and its board of governors in a lawsuit claiming violations of Title VII.

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Join us in Thanking the Obama Admin. for Standing with Trans Students https://t.co/wC1OGVlFmt #lgbtq #transgender #transyouth #obama

— Equality Federation (@EqualityFed) May 13, 2016

“Today’s guidance is a reflection of the Obama Administration’s longstanding commitment to eradicating discrimination and promoting justice and equality for all Americans,” added Isaacs. “It’s also the result of countless courageous transgender youth and their families who, in the face of adversity, have been sharing their stories. We should all be inspired by their determination and continue to work toward making sure all our youth are safe, supported, and empowered to be their true selves.”

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