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On Friday, in a "dear colleague" letter to school districts across the country, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education made clear the obligations schools have to support transgender students under Title IX. The letter states that gender identity is included under Title IX protections and provides guidance that educators must respond immediately to harassment, honor students' gender identity, and allow students to participate in all aspects of school consistent with their gender identity. The letter is attached and below are links to a number of news articles about the guidance. New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/us/politics/obama-administration-to-issue-decree-on-transgender-access-to-school-restrooms.html NPR report: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/05/13/477896804/obama-administration-to-offer-schools-guidance-on-transgender-bathrooms CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/12/politics/transgender-bathrooms-obama-administration/ In addition, last week the Justice Department filed a complaint against the state of North Carolina, the University of North Carolina (UNC) and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (DPS) alleging that they are discriminating against transgender individuals in violation of federal law as a result of the state’s compliance with and implementation of House Bill 2 (H.B. 2). H.B. 2 requires public agencies to treat transgender individuals, whose gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth, differently from similarly situated non-transgender individuals. More information about the complaint can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/video/justice-department-files-complaint-against-state-north-carolina-stop-discrimination Alice Rosenthal, JD Staff Attorney, Medical-Legal Partnership Project Center for Children's Advocacy 65 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105 ph. 203-688-0113, Yale-New Haven Hospital cell: 203-745-7980 fx. 860-570-5256 www.kidscounsel.org<https://mail.kidscounsel.org/owa/redir.aspx?C=ZC1l4078W0mQtH7TGviKrRA20OfkNNBIVzJNfm2KtXScPVR0AM0oRPSDxFbgXvMfWvoxh7T66lg.&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.kidscounsel.org%2f> This message is intended for the use of the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information which is privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by telephone and return the original to us at the above address by mail. Thank you.