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During Friday’s press briefing, White House spokesman Josh Earnest addressed the Obama administration’s directive telling public schools to allow transgender students access to bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.
Earnest said that the directive was a product of a formal request issued by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) -- an organization of school administrators and their advocates -- to the Department of Education for guidance on the issue.
“They sought guidance because they’re not interested in a political argument,” said Earnest. “They’re actually interested in practical suggestions about how they confront this challenge they face everyday.”
He defended the directive as a means to create a “respectful, inclusive environment that school administrators across the country are seeking to maintain.”
His remarks come amid a legal battle between the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of North Carolina.
Listen to White House press secretary Josh Earnest's remarks below.
A letter was issued by the Department of Justice and Department of Education on Friday calling on public school districts to accommodate transgender students.
The letter provides that schools that fail to comply are in direct violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits “discrimination based on a student’s gender identity.”
According to the Obama administration, this includes “discrimination based on a student’s transgender status.”