The U.S. Department of Education told BuzzFeed News it will refuse to hear complaints from transgender students who are banned from using the bathroom aligning with their gender identity.
A department spokesperson told BuzzFeed News on Feb. 8 that restroom complaints from transgender students are not covered by Title IX.
“Where students, including transgender students, are penalized or harassed for failing to conform to sex-based stereotypes, that is sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX,” the spokesperson said to BuzzFeed News. “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.”
Ames Simmons, director of transgender policy at Equality NC, said the decision will directly harm transgender students.
“The Department of Education is essentially saying that they are not going to do their job,” he said. “They are there to make sure that students have an opportunity to learn in a safe environment free from discrimination, and when kids are not able to use the restrooms that accord with their gender identity, it places them at risk for violence.”
In the best case scenario, Simmons said, transgender students will not use restrooms at school, opting instead to wait until the end of the day to use the restroom at home.
“We know that is going to cause health issues like dehydration, kidney problems and urinary tract problems,” he said. “I know this first-hand because I have heard students tell me that, even going to high school in Raleigh, they go home to use the restroom rather than try to navigate the restrooms in their school.”
Title IX should be the primary legal defense against the Department of Education’s bathroom policies, according to Simmons.
“Title IX requires students be given a discrimination-free environment,” he said. “It’s a very shaky legal foundation for the Department of Education to be moving forward with.”
