‘An Estimated 150,000 Youth Between Ages 13 and 17 Are Transgender’
Lambda Legal is suing the Dept. of Education and the Dept. of Justice after waiting five months for documents it requested on their joint revocation of Obama-era guidance to schools for transgender students. In February Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions jointly decided to revoke the Obama-era guidance to protect the civil rights of transgender students.
In March Lambda Legal, an LGBT civil rights organization, filed Freedom of Information Act requests (FOIA) to obtain records relating to the federal government agencies’ “rescission of two guidance documents pertaining to schools’ Title IX obligations with respect to transgender students.”
Having received no response for more than five months, Lambda Legal announced on Wednesday it had filed suit Tuesday against both agencies to obtain the requested documents. The federal government is legally obligated to provide the requested documents, or provide a reason why it believes it cannot.
“The Departments of Education and Justice pulled the rug out from under transgender students, leaving them even more vulnerable to harassment and abuse. We need to know why,” says Susan Sommer, Lambda Legal’s Associate Legal Director and Director of Constitutional Litigation, in a statement.
“Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of our country’s democracy, and the Freedom of Information Act is a vital part of citizens’ ability to understand how the government works and hold politicians accountable,” Sommer adds. “The Departments of Education and Justice cannot be allowed to flout those ideals, to devise policies behind closed doors with terrible consequences for transgender schoolchildren nationwide.”
In its lawsuit, Lambda Legal notes the decision to withdraw the 2016 guidance “created confusion for schools across the country and eliminated an important resource for ensuring that schools meet their Title IX obligations.”
Lambda Legal also notes the decision to revoke the guidance to protect transgender students’ civil rights “leaves these children even more vulnerable to abuse and discrimination in their schools. It sends the troubling signal that Defendants [the DOJ and DoEd] will not follow through on their responsibility to enforce Title IX for transgender children. It sends the false message that schools may not be obligated under Title IX to respect and protect their transgender students, including when it comes to access to sex-segregated facilities consistent with students’ gender identities.”
“An estimated 150,000 youth between ages 13 and 17 are transgender,” the lawsuit notes. “These transgender students, along with younger transgender children, experience alarming rates of harassment, bullying, and discrimination in their schools, which often goes unaddressed by school administrators. Many are denied access to sex-segregated facilities, such as school restrooms and locker rooms, in accordance with their gender identities.”
Lambda Legal is also suing President Trump for his ban on transgender service members.Â
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