Geoff Pender

The Clarion-Ledger

After catching flak from Gov. Phil Bryant and Republican lawmakers — who called for her resignation if she didn't change her stance — state Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said she'll follow state, not federal, directives on transgender bathroom policy for public schools.

In a written statement on Wednesday, Wright said, "Pending a discussion with the Mississippi State Board of Education, I am instructing the Mississippi Department of Education to follow the lead of state leadership and take no action at this time regarding the non-regulatory guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education."

A spokeswoman for MDE last week said, "The Mississippi Department of Education will adhere to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as well as the joint guidance issued today by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice."

As the state of North Carolina and the Department of Justice square off in lawsuits over the state's "bathroom bill," DOJ and the U.S. Department of Education have directed state education officials to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms for the gender with which they identify. DOJ has threatened to withhold billions of dollars in federal education money from states that don't comply. The move has brought fierce debate over whether the federal government has such authority.

Mississippi's K-12 public education for the current year is receiving $783 million in federal funds and about $2.5 billion in state funds.

Bryant last week called the federal directives "outrageous" and called for MDE to ignore them. On Tuesday, 11 Republican House lawmakers joined Bryant's stand and in a letter called for Wright to withdraw her policy statement or resign.

"The people of this State demand a leader who shares our goals and values and who is willing to protect our children even under pressure from federal agencies to do otherwise," the lawmakers' letter to Wright said.

On Wednesday, 27 Republican members of the 52-member state Senate sent a similar letter to Wright — after she had already issued her new statement saying she would not follow the federal directive at this time. The letter said the state Board of Education, not Wright, has the authority to set policies for MDE and that Wright had overstepped her bounds.

"The federal government is, in effect, trying to blackmail our state by implying that funding for public schools will be withheld should we continue to recognize biological sex when setting safety and privacy policies in our schools," the Senate letter said. "... Additionally, if Dr. Wright, in her capacity as state superintendent of education, does not recognize the danger that such an irresponsible policy decision will impose on the children of our state, then it is obvious her ideals and values do not represent those of the state of Mississippi and the board should act accordingly."

Rob Hill, director of the Human Rights Campaign of Mississippi, in a statement said: "Mississippi lawmakers are playing politics with the lives of transgender students, yet recklessly claim that they’re the ones being bullied. Transgender young people have every right to the same opportunities as their peers and are already targets of violence, bullying and harassment. ... Make no mistake, these lawmakers are the bullies and their dangerous interference with guidance sought by their own teachers is also endangering billions of dollars in federal funding for our schools.”

After Wright's reversal on Wednesday, Bryant said he was encouraged and hopes she and the state board do not implement the directive.

"(MDE) should not force the state's school children to participate in the Obama administration's social experiment," Bryant said.

Contact Geoff Pender at 601-961-7266 or gpender@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @GeoffPender on Twitter.