State Capitol Highlights

Judge reaffirms, expands reach of injunction against bathroom directive

Fort Worth-based U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor has reaffirmed his Aug. 21 injunction placing a temporary hold on federal guidelines for accommodating transgender students in the use of public school bathrooms and locker rooms.

In his order last week, O’Connor also denied a request by the Obama administration to limit the injunction to Texas and 12 other states that signed on as plaintiffs. The administration asked that the injunction not apply to states that did not sue for relief. In his order, O’Connor wrote, “A nationwide injunction is necessary because the alleged violation extends nationwide. Defendants are a group of agencies and administrators capable of enforcing their Guidelines nationwide, affecting numerous state and school district facilities across the country.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, in an Oct. 19 news release, said, “I am proud to lead a coalition of 13 states against the Obama Administration’s latest illegal federal overreach. The court’s reaffirmation of a nationwide injunction should send a clear message to the president that Texas won’t sit idly by as he continues to ignore the Constitution. The president cannot rewrite the laws enacted by the elected representatives of the people and then threaten to take away funding from schools to force them to fall in line.”

Background: On May 13, 2016, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released joint guidance “to help provide educators the information they need to ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex.” The two federal agencies said that under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, schools receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student's sex, including a student's transgender status. 

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