The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Justice issued a letter Wednesday withdrawing the policy and guidance issued last year concerning access to sex-segregated facilities based on gender identity, according to the Council for American Private Education, of which WCRIS is a member.
The joint letter indicates that the previous guidance documents did not “contain extensive legal analysis or explain how the position is consistent with the express language of Title IX, nor did they undergo any formal public process.”
In addition, the letter said the departments believe “there must be due regard for the primary role of the states and local school districts in establishing educational policy.”
As was the case with the previous guidance, the new letter has no effect on the vast majority of private schools, according to CAPE.
The previous guidance was based on an interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX, as enforced by DOE, only applies to institutions that receive federal financial assistance from DOE.
CAPE notes that most private schools, even those whose students or teachers receive services under ESEA or IDEA, are not recipients of federal financial assistance from the US DOE.
Further, religious schools are exempt from Title IX to the extent that compliance would not be consistent with the religious tenets of the school, CAPE reminded.
With the new directive, all private schools are free to address the sensitive issue of access to sex-segregated facilities in a way that reflects the beliefs and values of the school community, CAPE concluded.
Read the Trump Administration’s Feb 2017 DOE/DOJ Dear Colleague transgender bathroom letter.
