A group of LGBT employees at the
Department of Education and their supporters are asking Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos to commit to Title IX protections.
Under the Obama administration, Title
IX rules, which prohibit discrimination based on sex, were
interpreted to include gender identity.
“At a time when students and
individuals across the nation are being targeted with overtly
discriminatory treatment, our nation needs you to remind and empower
students about their right to equal access to education,” the
employees wrote in a letter obtained by the AP. “We look
forward to partnering with you in this very important work and hope
that as a ‘door open type of person,’ you will open your office
to hear from both your LGBTQ staff and the LGBTQ families our
Department serves.”
Last week, the Department of Justice
under newly confirmed Attorney General Jeff Sessions withdrew a
motion in an ongoing lawsuit challenging guidance on allowing
transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice issued by
the Department of Education.
DeVos, a wealthy Republican whose
family has given extensively to groups opposed to LGBT rights, barely
survived her confirmation in the Senate, winning approval by one
vote.