State attorney general declares triumph over President’s transgender school policy

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For now, it appears public schools in West Virginia can dismiss a directive from the White House regarding transgender students.

A federal court judge in Texas stopped implementation of President Obama’s directive threatening federal funding for local school districts that refuse to admit students to the bathrooms, locker rooms, dormitories and athletic teams of their choice.
“This means that the Obama transgender policy, at least for the immediate future, will not be in effect. And, all of the school districts in West Virginia that have been concerned about the potential loss of federal funding, at least for right now, they can rest easily,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey told MetroNews Talkline’s Hoppy Kercheval.
Morrisey emphasized the injunction is just another step in the process of the 12-state collaborative fight against the order.

“Obviously there’s going to be an appeal up to the fifth circuit. But, we’re very pleased. This is actually exactly what we’d talked about when we filed the lawsuit that the Obama administration as engaging in federal over reach.”
Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin are represented in the suit.

Upon the announcement of the directive in May, officials in Upshur, Hardy and Preston Counties were said to have indicated they will comply with Obama’s order. Calhoun, Clay and Doddridge Counties may have been considering not complying. Most county education leaders have not publicly denounced or applauded the order.

Morrisey said the federal judge’s decision was based on technical requirements that were unmet in issuing the order.

“Typically if you’re going to push something through that effectively carries the force of law, you have to provide appropriate notice and comment. The Obama administration did not do so here.”

The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Texas, contends the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice seek to single handedly change the traditionally held understanding of the word “sex” from that based on biology to include a person’s self-determined gender identity.

“Nobody had ever thought about it in those terms in decades,” Morrisey added.

The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office joined 12 other states in seeking the injunction in July 2016.





More News

News
PSC approves settlements involving Mon Power, net-metering cases
Rate increase went into effect Tuesday.
March 27, 2024 - 9:42 pm
News
Speakers at Focus Forward symposium discuss AI capabilities in West Virginia
The event was organized by the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
March 27, 2024 - 8:30 pm
News
Justice vetoes vaccination exemption bill, draws praise from healthcare groups
Educational and healthcare organizations banded together to urge a veto.
March 27, 2024 - 6:35 pm
News
Testimony wraps up in attempt to remove 2 Jefferson County commissioners from office
Three-judge panel hears 2 days of testimony.
March 27, 2024 - 5:11 pm