Obama Reaches Out To Transgender Students
May 31, 2016
With a new name, new clothes, new haircut, new friends, a new lifestyle and so much more, having to think about which bathroom to use was the last thing Adam Ghaudin wanted to worry about.
Now that extra worry can finally disappear for him.
On Friday, May 13th, The Obama administration sent out a directive to all public schools in the United States, signed by Justice and Education Department officials, that all public schools must allow transgender students to freely use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. In other words, school officials no longer can designate the rule that students must use bathrooms specific to their birth gender.
Students who wish to use a bathroom that is different than that of their birth gender must submit a request, validated by a parent or guardian, before access will be granted. At that point, the students are free to use the bathroom of their choosing.
The White House directive proclaims that it is the school’s responsibility “to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex requires schools to provide transgender students equal access to educational programs and activities even in circumstances in which other students, parents, or community members raise objections or concerns. 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.”
For students like Adam, who was born with the name Aleah, but preferred to be identified as a male, this one specific change means the world to him.
“It is, first of all, life changing for me,” Ghaudin said. “Something as simple as being able to use the bathroom is just so important and gratifying.”
Schools strive to create an environment where each student feels accepted and included. This declaration clarifies the school’s obligations and “best ways” of treatment for transgender students. This directive gives administrators and teachers guidance to protect transgender students from harassment and inequity.
“Here at Highland we want students to feel comfortable and safe no matter what,” assistant principal Katie Eskelson-Ieremia said.
While the very controversial directive was celebrated by many, it was criticized and attacked by others. Including in Utah.
If Utah Governor Gary Herbert has his way, this policy will vanish from Utah schools before it is ever truly implemented. Herbert released a statement Friday calling the directive, “one of the most egregious examples of federal overreach I have ever witnessed.”
Herbert, along with a coalition of other states, argue that it is not the President’s job to make laws such as this and that each state should be allowed to create rules that best fit that state directly.
Herbert’s statement angers Ghaudin but for now takes comfort in knowing the White House has issued a directive in his favor.
