Yahoo! News: Education News

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• U.S. tells schools to give transgender students bathroom rights
• States dig in against directive on transgender bathroom use
• U.S. guidance on school restroom choice opposed by some states
• ‘Transgender’ dictionary lookups surge after Justice Department letter to schools
• Can Virginia Beach find a way forward in the LGBT culture wars?
• US gives directive to schools on transgender bathroom access
• New Alabama law could shutter two abortion clinics near schools
• Top Texas court finds state's school financing is constitutional
• A timeline of Texas' 30 years school funding battles
• Feds order schools to recognize transgender students' chosen gender
• Obama admin. tells schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their identity

U.S. tells schools to give transgender students bathroom rights Posted: 13 May 2016 04:50 PM PDT By Megan Cassella WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration told U.S. public schools on Friday that transgender students must be allowed to use the bathroom of their choice, upsetting Republicans and raising the likelihood of fights over federal funding and legal authority. Conservatives pushed back against the administration's non-binding guidance to schools, the latest battleground in the issue of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the guidance "must be challenged." "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," Paxton, a Tea Party champion, said in a statement.

States dig in against directive on transgender bathroom use Posted: 13 May 2016 03:47 PM PDT Politicians in Texas, Arkansas and elsewhere vowed defiance — and other conservative states could follow suit — after the Obama administration told public schools across the U.S. on Friday to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. The federal government's guidance was met with tearful praise from parents of transgender students. "It's heartbreaking that these kids are losing their lives because they can't be accepted," Hope Tyler, who has a transgender son at a Raleigh high school, said in reference to suicides among transgender people.

U.S. guidance on school restroom choice opposed by some states Posted: 13 May 2016 02:35 PM PDT Transgender students cheered the Obama administration's directive on Friday requiring U.S. public schools to allow them to use toilets and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity while some school districts said they would not comply. "This is the strongest guidance to date from the federal government to schools instructing them on how they must treat transgender students fairly and without discrimination," said Ilona Turner, legal director at the Transgender Law Center in California. "This will be something that courts will have to give great weight to." The letter, signed by officials from the U.S. Education and Justice Departments, intensified the debate over balancing equal rights with privacy concerns.

‘Transgender’ dictionary lookups surge after Justice Department letter to schools Posted: 13 May 2016 01:43 PM PDT Transgender rights have become a national conversation topic since North Carolina passed its controversial "bathroom bill," and search data reveals that many Americans may be struggling to learn more about LGBT issues and understand what being transgender means. Merriam-Webster revealed that searches for "transgender" in its online dictionary surged 630 percent after the Obama administration on Friday sent an open letter to public schools across the country with guidelines for supporting transgender students. The letter, signed by officials from the U.S. Justice and Education Departments, calls for public schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms that align with their gender identities.

Can Virginia Beach find a way forward in the LGBT culture wars? Posted: 13 May 2016 01:29 PM PDT The City of Virginia Beach has become a flashpoint in the culture wars surrounding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues, highlighting the push-and-pull of individual cities, companies, and individuals as conservative states debate so-called bathroom bills. On Wednesday the city was ground zero for Virginia's LGBT battles when two unrelated events caught national headlines: the appointment of the city's first LGBT liaison police officer, and a sign posted in front of a local pizza restaurant offering to help customers figure out which bathroom they should use. The sign was apparently in response to controversy over North Carolina bathroom bill known as HB2, which, in part, requires transgender people to use facilities that match their gender identity when in public schools and offices.

US gives directive to schools on transgender bathroom access Posted: 13 May 2016 10:41 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity, according to an Obama administration directive issued amid a court fight between the federal government and North Carolina.

New Alabama law could shutter two abortion clinics near schools Posted: 13 May 2016 09:49 AM PDT The Republican governor signed two anti-abortion laws, according to the Montgomery Advertiser and other local outlets. One prevents state health officials from issuing or renewing the licenses of abortion clinics within 2,000 feet of public schools serving students in grades kindergarten through eight. Advocates said the measure would protect students from exposure to anti-abortion demonstrations.

Top Texas court finds state's school financing is constitutional Posted: 13 May 2016 09:17 AM PDT The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the state's financing of schools is constitutional but said the decades-long legal battle over how it pays for the education of more than 5 million children shows the system suffers serious shortcomings. The all-Republican Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that held the system, approved by the Republican-dominated legislature, was unconstitutional because it does not adequately or fairly provide money to public schools.

A timeline of Texas' 30 years school funding battles Posted: 13 May 2016 07:25 AM PDT AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court declared the state's school finance system constitutional on Friday, settling the sixth major court case over how Texas funds its public schools since 1984. Here's a look at major milestones in 30-plus years of legal battles:

Feds order schools to recognize transgender students' chosen gender Posted: 13 May 2016 07:03 AM PDT The directive, formulated by leaders in the Education and Justice Departments, obliges public schools to allow transgender students to use bathroom and locker rooms that match their chosen gender identity, even if their education records or identity documents indicate a different sex. "There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement accompanying the directive.

Obama admin. tells schools to let transgender students use bathrooms matching their identity Posted: 12 May 2016 08:34 PM PDT Public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, according to an Obama administration directive.

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