Georgia's superintendent of schools is taking a slow approach to issuing guidelines to schools on the controversial White House directive to allow transgender students to go to a bathroom or locker room of their choice.
Gov. Nathan Deal called on Superintendent Richard Woods Tuesday “to provide guidance to those local school systems seeking assistance and clarity on this issue in order to ensure that there will be as much uniformity across our state as possible.”
Woods' response Wednesday was essentially the same as one issued last week immediately after the controversial federal directive.
“We will carefully consider policy before making recommendations or taking actions,” it says.
The statement from his office reiterates that he believes there are “safety concerns” in allowing students “of different genders” to share a bathroom. “For that reason, I do not believe a student of another gender should use a restroom alongside students of the opposite sex.”
Phillip Hartley, a prominent education lawyer, said the federal missive is nothing new. The Obama administration has been making this same position clear in friend-of-the-court briefs in lawsuits around the country, so judges already know what the administration thinks.
There is a national legal debate about how much weight to give the administration’s interpretation of the law, and guidance like this won’t change that. What makes it significant is the public message it sends, louder, if not clearer, than those court briefs.
“That’s one of the major concerns,” Hartley said. “The more publicity, the more likelihood of the kind of litigation … that’s brought on by strongly held feelings.”
Parents of transgender youths may feel emboldened to sue their schools, said Hartley, who represents over 100 Georgia school districts. He’s unaware of any such litigation in Georgia so far.
The alternative, he said, is for schools to develop plans on a student-by-student basis.
The U.S. Department of Education recommends letting students choose their bathroom or offering private bathrooms, though it says no student should be required to use a separate space.
“Some schools have provided students increased privacy by making adjustments to sex-segregated facilities or providing all students with access to alternative facilities,” the education agency’s guidelines say.
Both Deal and Woods — Republicans — accused the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama of exceeding federal authority. Deal said he doubts the directive carries the force of law, but noted the federal government has threatened to withhold funding from schools that fail to comply. Georgia gets about $2 billion in federal education money.
Woods accused the feds of bullying and said Georgia schools “have and will continue to appropriately address concerns surrounding this and many other issues. Our schools will do the right thing.”
A coalition of seven conservative and faith-based groups called on Deal to go further.
“Rather than simply handing off the issue” to Woods and the schools, Deal should encourage local districts to defy the federal directive and should pledge to cover potential legal costs, says the statement sent by Tanya Ditty, the director of Concerned Women for America of Georgia. The other groups included the Faith & Freedom Coalition of Georgia and the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
Deal has led on other education issues, the statement says, and “should do the same on an issue that is so fundamental to student privacy and safety. … “This is a time for bold leadership, not reticence.”
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