Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is throwing out transgender bathroom complaints
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A number of complaints about bathroom access for transgender students have been thrown out by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, according to Politico.
At least five cases have been halted by DeVos, who became Education Secretary in 2017 and is a Republican.
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Donald Trump announced that he would nominate her for the position in November 2016, and she went on to be appointed by a slim majority in the Senate.
Now, an investigation of federal records by Politico has revealed that she has halted a number of investigation into lack of access to bathrooms by transgender students.
One of the complainants, Alex Howe told Politico that his experience at school was “isolating and alienating” when he was forced to take a long walk to use unisex stalls in his school, after he was denied access to the boys’ bathrooms.
Howe also experienced other issues at school. Parents told the debate coach that they didn’t want him sharing a room with their sons on trips to competitions.
He has struggled with depression and anxiety, and his mother said the treatment at school took its toll.”
Howe filed his complaint in 2017 after graduating with the hope that it might become easier for other transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. However, as of yet, these complaints have made little progress.
Another student has not had his case thrown out, however it has been stalled for three years.
This is not the first time DeVos has made waves in the LGBT+ community. Last year, she stunned Congress when she refused to say whether she believed private schools should be banned from discriminating against LGBT+ students.
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Earlier this year she directed the Department of Education to stop investigating allegations of discrimination against transgender children who have been banned from bathrooms and locker rooms.
She was challenged over the policy in March, where she confirmed that the department will limit any action against discrimination to a literal reading of discrimination law. The law states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be subjected to discrimination under any education program.”
She said that the area had not been “clarified” in the law, and added: “This department is not going to make law, we are going to enforce laws that we are given to do.”
