Trump administration is reportedly changing rules for transgender students

The White House announced on Tuesday that it plans to work on new directives regarding the use of school bathrooms by transgender students. Reports claim that the administration of US President Donald Trump might revise Obama-era guidelines that allow students to use school restrooms that match their gender identity.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said a “further guidance” will be issued by the administration soon. He did not provide any details on the guidelines being prepared by the Justice Department, but said the president has long established that in such matters, the decision has to be made by the states and not the federal government. “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 the federal government should be involved in, this is a states’ rights issue,” Spicer said.

Trump has allegedly signed off on issuing new guidance to all public schools that withdraws the Obama era guidance on protecting transgender pupils. When asked about the issue, the White House spokesman recognised that only the Departments of Justice and Education are looking at doing so.

Former President Barack Obama’s administration issued guidance last year that allows transgender pupils to use restrooms and join school athletics according to their gender identity. Schools were advised to treat students in line with their expressed gender identity.

Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the current guidelines set by Obama’s administration breach the rights of other students, girls who have suffered from sexual abuse and are not comfortable in being exposed to the male anatomy in particular. "It's understandable when a 16-year-old girl might not want an anatomical male in the shower or the locker room," USA Today quoted him saying.

A study by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law suggests that about 150,000 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 in the United States are identified as transgender. The LGBT community has already expressed their thoughts regarding Spicer's recent remarks.“This is about adults trying to make political hay out of children, and it is not O.K.,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said. HRC Senior Vice President Mary Beth Maxwell noted that over 1,000 parents of transgender youth issued a letter to the president to defend the rights, safety and dignity” of their children.