Trump ‘set to dismantle’ protections for transgender children
President Trump is expected to rescind discrimination protections for transgender students this week.
The Obama administration had sought to expand existing civil rights protections for women and ethnic minorities in education – redirecting Title IX provisions outlawing discrimination based on sex to also protect sexual orientation and gender identity
The policies are reportedly under the firing line under DeVos, however, with multiple reports confirming draft plans to axe protections based on gender identity.
Several outlets confirm that a plan has been “green-lit” by Trump President to rescind President Obama’s guidance, and the policy is expected to be changed this week.
Before leaving office, last year Obama officials had sent guidance to every school in the country explaining transgender children would be covered by anti-discrimination rules. The Blade reports that the Republicans are planning a similar mailout reversing their guidance.
There have been other warning signs that Title IX protections are potentially in the firing line under the Trump administration, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions withdrew from an impending court battle to defend the protections from a legal challenge.
A number of officials within the Education Department penned a letter urging DeVos to maintain the Department’s support for tackling anti-LGBT discrimination – but Reuters reports that Trump will push ahead with plans to repeal the policy regardless.
According to the New York Times, DeVos actually cautioned the President against taking action, but Trump sided with Sessions and ordered her to scrap the protections.
Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said: “Transgender young people face tragically high rates of discrimination and bullying, and they need a government that will stand up for them – not attack them.
“It’s shocking that this kind of harm would even be a subject of debate for the president.”
White House press secretary Sean Spicer previously confirmed action would be taken.
He said: “Right now that’s an issue that the Department of Justice and the Department of Education are addressing.
“I think that there will be further guidance coming from DOJ in particular with respect to not just the executive order, but also the case that’s in front of the Supreme Court.
“The President has maintained for a long time that this is a states’ rights issue and not one for the federal government.
“So while there will be further guidance coming out on this, I think that all you have to do is look at what the President’s view has been for a long time — that this is not something that the federal government should be involved in; this is a states’ rights issue.”
DeVos, a billionaire heiress with no experience in education, was only confirmed after Vice President Mike Pence intervened to break a deadlocked vote.
She has faced a bitterly contested confirmation battle over her lack of policy knowledge and her radical views opposing public education.
DeVos also faced accusations of lying during her confirmation hearing – after claiming her 13 years as VP of a charitable trust that funded anti-gay activism was a “clerical error”.
