Family Policy Alliance is proud to work with nearly 40 state-based family policy groups, including the Family Policy Institute of Washington. Blaine Conzatti is on staff at FPIW.
The federal government is threatening to withhold federal education funding from local school districts that disobey the recent Obama Administration bathroom directive.
The directive, issued via letter from the Departments of Education and Justice, mandates that public schools affirm a student’s chosen gender identity by allowing the student to use whichever showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms correspond to his or her chosen internal gender identity, regardless of his or her biological sex.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has called the federal government’s threat “blackmail,” saying that the president “can keep his 30 pieces of silver.”
Texas and officials from 10 other states recently filed a lawsuit against federal agencies and administration officials, asking a federal court to overturn the directive, which was handed down by the executive branch without any congressional vote. The plaintiffs claim that the directive exceeds the executive branch’s authority and violates the 10th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.
This lawsuit supplements the existing lawsuit filed by the State of North Carolina against the Department of Justice, and a lawsuit filed by families in North Carolina surrounding the same debate.
As states count the risk of losing federal education funding, it is important to understand how that funding is used.
Here in Washington, just 8 percent of a local school district’s budget comes from the federal government. Most of that money comes in the form of categorical grants that fund programs for disadvantaged students, such as special education, school lunches, Head Start, transportation services, and others.
It is unconscionable that a presidential administration would bully local school districts by threatening to withhold funding for programs aimed at low income and disadvantaged students unless they adopt the agenda of social experimentation foisted upon them by federal bureaucrats. Local school districts should consider responding by using this as an opportunity to finally liberate their budgets from federal education funding and the strings that come with it.
The burdensome mandates that accompany federal funding give federal officials significant control over the affairs of local schools. It is estimated that the regulations that accompany federal education funding saddle states and local school districts with millions of hours of administrative work, costing local schools millions annually and converting them into bureaucracies that must do the bidding of the federal government for fear of losing their federal funding.
Federal mandates also hinder innovation and experimentation by creating a one-size-fits-all regulatory scheme. The good news is that states and local school districts can escape many of these obligations by choosing to refuse federal education funding.
Students benefit when local communities – not distant, unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. – retain control over their schools. Maintaining local control over education allows schools to be more responsive to the unique needs of students in their communities. Because of this, schools and students will be in a better position if state and local education officials use this opportunity to rid themselves of federal education funding and the onerous regulations that accompany it.
Several states have jointly filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration for pushing its bathroom agenda onto public schools.
An announcement was made recently, giving “guidance” on Title IX and opening all public school bathrooms, showers and locker rooms to all students regardless of their biological sex.
Policy Director Autumn Leva tells us that there is a lot to be hopeful about in this latest round of legal wrangling.
The Obama Administration continued its overreach on Friday by issuing an edict declaring that all public school restrooms, locker rooms and showers should be open to members of either sex, based on a student’s declared gender identity. The statement included a threat to withhold federal funds from states that do not give in. It’s one more salvo in the ongoing push to force transgender policies into the school system.
Thanks to the bravery and integrity of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory in the face of great opposition to that state’s bathroom protection policy, more elected officials are standing up to the pressure from activists. We’ve compiled a list of those who support commonsense protections for women and children. If you’re state isn’t one of them, consider sending an email to your governor. We’ve made it easy through the Family Policy Alliance Action Center.
TAKE ACTION
Encourage your elected officials to support commonsense privacy laws to protect women and children in public accommodations through the Family Policy Alliance Action Center.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is under intense pressure from gay activists and now from the Obama administration. All because he signed a bill that protects women and children in bathrooms, locker rooms and other public accommodations.
The U.S. Department of Justice is now suing the state saying it violated federal law. The DOJ is threatening to pull funding for public schools as a result. John Rustin with the North Carolina Family Policy Council says Gov. McCrory needs to hear from you personally!
TAKE ACTION
Getting a hand-written note is a lost art, but one that carries a lot of weight. Gov. McCrory staff has let us know how much it’s meant to hear from you. Please write to Gov. McCrory and encourage him at the address below. If you’re in a hurry, you can always send an email through our Action Center.
Gov. Pat McCrory
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301