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Trump’s Education Dept Will Reject Transgender Students’ Bathroom Complaints

The department spokesperson said that strict separation in bathrooms does not violate Title IX.

The U.S. Department of Education on Monday told BuzzFeed News that it will no longer investigate complaints from transgender students who are barred from bathrooms that match their identified gender. This is the first time that the Trump administration has made a clear stance on the issue after it withdrew Obama-era guidance on the issue in early 2017. In an email, education spokesperson Liz Hill said that “Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, not gender identity.” She clarified that while the department would continue to hear complaints from transgender students, complaints about bathrooms would no longer be considered. “In the case of bathrooms, however, long standing regulations provide that separating facilities on the basis of sex is not a form of discrimination prohibited by Title IX,” Hill said.