Texas Lieutenant Governor: Bathroom Directive ‘Biggest Issue Since Prayer Was Taken Out Of Schools’ [Video]


https://youtu.be/f8DCM75pcVs

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is railing against the “bathroom directive” recently issued by President Obama that allows students to use facilities of the gender they identify with, which has put a lot of people up in arms. A recent Inquisitr article reported that Texas governor Greg Abbot is against the bathroom directive and vowed to fight the law in Texas. Patrick says that the action by Obama is the “biggest issue facing family and schools in America since prayer was taken out of schools.” The Lieutenant Governor doesn’t think the White House interpretation of Title IX will hold up in court. According to the Houston Chronicle, Patrick said that the bathroom directive is a “come-and-take-it issue,” and said the new guidelines are going to cause a backlash from parents who will “pull their children out of public schools if the Obama directive becomes mandatory.”

The Lieutenant Governor also said the White House is trying to hurt the poorest school children in Texas. Obama’s directive says that funding will be withheld if schools don’t follow the policy, and Patrick says that the majority of federal education funds Texas receives goes to feed students who need free or reduced lunches. According to an article on NBCDFW, the Lieutenant Governor had earlier called on a Fort Worth ISD superintendent to resign due to the school district’s policy that allowed for accomodation for transgender students. The lieutenant Governor said the policies may “violate Texas’ education code.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is threatening a legal battle with the federal government over the guidelines.

“If President Obama thinks he can bully Texas schools into allowing men to have open access to girls in bathrooms, he better prepare for yet another legal fight.”

Parents in Houston are apparently supportive of the Texas Lieutenant Governor because the Houston ISD is also up in arms over the bathroom directive. After the Obama administration announced the bathroom directive, phone calls from concerned parents started coming into the Fort Bend Independent School District last Friday morning. Nancy Porter, spokeswoman for Houston’s third largest school district, said that the issue has been polarizing the nation.

“That’s why we’re trying to handle this with sensitivity for the best interest of all students.”

The bathroom directive is part of a policy that permits transgender students to use a bathroom or locker room of the gender that they identify with. Education and Justice department leaders say that all public schools should treat transgender students in a way that “matches their gender identity, even if their education records or identity documents indicate a different sex.”

Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, in a statement along with the directive that was sent to schools on Friday, that “There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex.”

The Houston ISD, which is the largest school district in Texas, had revised its policies in 2011 to keep employees from discriminating against colleagues or students based on gender identity or gender expression, according to the Houston Chronicle. HISD trustee Anna Eastman said, “I hope we all can get beyond a political battle in the media and make sure we are taking care of all our kids, so they have safe places to learn.”

“Transgender students who are more likely to be bullied, to be homeless, to commit suicide because they are misunderstood don’t want to hurt others. They just want the same assumption of safety and comfort most of us already have.”

HISD also issued a statement on Friday that said while its policy doesn’t mention restrooms, administrators “are counseled to make accommodations that are aligned with the letter and spirit of the district’s policy prohibiting student discrimination, harassment and retaliation.”

The Chronicle article added that other area districts such as Cypress-Fairbanks and Klein said they also respond to students’ requests on a case-by-case basis. Fort Bend ISD spokeswoman Porter said her district also offered sensitivity training to administrators over the summer. Fort Bend’s policy prohibits discrimination based on sex and gender, but restrooms are not specifically mentioned. Porter said those situations were also handled on a case-by-case basis and the ISD worked with students’ families on the issue.

Do you think the bathroom directive is fair to all students? Please post your thoughts below.

[Photo by AP Photo/LM Otero]

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