Talking Stick - March/April 2017 - 13

Administration Withdraws
Title IX Guidance for
Trans Students
In a move that was highly anticipated by educational policy experts, last month
the Departments of Justice and Education issued a Dear Colleague Letter
rescinding previous federal guidance that supported transgender students and
their right to use restrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender
identity.
This action reversed the Obama administration's May 2016 directive
to schools receiving federal funding that the federal government views "a
student's gender identity as a student's sex for the purposes of Title IX."
According to the most recent DOJ/DOE letter, the 2016 guidance was rejected
on the basis of insufficient legal analysis and the belief that this decision
should be left to state governments and local school districts.
The issue of bathroom usage has received increased attention over the
last year as "bathroom bills" have been proposed across the country: the
most notable being North Carolina's HB2 bill, which requires individuals
to use public restrooms in accordance with their sex as listed on their birth
certificate. The new Dear Colleague Letter, in combination with the Supreme
Court's March 6th decision to vacate and remand the Gloucester County School
Board v. Gavin Grimm case to the Fourth Circuit, will likely further confuse
this issue for institutions trying to understand the application of Title IX to
transgender students on their campuses.
In response to the withdrawal of Title IX guidance, Tony Perkins,
president of the Family Research Council, stated, "The federal government has
absolutely no right to strip parents and local schools of their rights to provide
a safe learning environment for children." In the same article, Chad Griffin,
president of the Human Rights Campaign, countered, "The consequences of
this decision will no doubt be heartbreaking. This isn't a states' rights issue;
it's a civil rights issue" (New York Times, February 22, 2017).

STEP Thrives at
OSU
The Second-Year Transformational
Experience Program (STEP)
is alive and well at The Ohio
State University in Columbus.
Now in its fourth year, it has
doubled both its student and
faculty participation, with 2,600
students and 135 faculty tallied
in the 2016-17 program year. It
launched in 2013 with the goal
of connecting students to greater
experiences beyond the classroom.
Students collaborate with faculty
to develop a transformational
experience from one of six core
areas: internships, leadership,
education abroad, service
learning, undergraduate research,
or artistic and creative endeavors.
Not only have students reported a
great increase in their leadership
efficacy and their ability to access
professional, academic, and
personal resources, but faculty
report that the program has made
them better instructors because
they better understand the student
experience.
- Camille Perlman

- Holly Asimou

MARCH + APRIL 2017

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Talking Stick - March/April 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - March/April 2017
