Lori Higgins

Detroit Free Press

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has joined a lawsuit filed by a group of states seeking to overturn recent federal guidelines for schools on protecting the rights of transgender students

The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice in May issued guidance to school districts — the most controversial of which is to urge schools to allow transgender students to use the restrooms and locker rooms that align with the students' gender identity.

The departments said at the time that the guidelines are necessary "to ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex."

Those guidelines were issued as a debate raged in Michigan over a policy being considered by the State Board of Education on lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual students. The proposed policy outlines many of the same recommendations made in the federal guidance.

Schuette, in a statement today, said he joined the lawsuit because it seeks to protect the "dignity and privacy" of all Michigan students.

"Every child in every school must be provided with dignity, privacy, respect and safety," Schuette said.

The State of Michigan itself is not a party to the lawsuit, said Anna Heaton, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Snyder.

"The governor declined to participate," Heaton said.

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The other states involved in the lawsuit: Arkansas, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming.

It's the second lawsuit to be filed against the Obama administration over the guidelines. A group of 11 states, one governor, one state education department and two school districts filed a similar lawsuit in May, shortly after the guidelines were issued.

John Austin, president of the State Board of Education in Michigan, said in a statement today that Schuette "is on the wrong side of history, and wants to represent Michigan as a state inhospitable to our LGBT citizens."

"Transgender schoolchildren, as all children, deserve dignity, respect and the right to be acknowledged and accepted in school, so they can go about the business of getting a great education," said Austin, who has been a strong advocate for the proposed policy being discussed in Michigan.

Stephanie White, executive director of Equality Michigan, said she's "disappointed but not surprised" by Schuette's involvement.

"The attorney general has had a list of losing battles that he's taken on. This would be one more. In the past, he's demonstrated his noninterest in protecting Michigan residents who are gay and transgender from discrimination, and has been fighting against our efforts."

She said she was particularly disturbed that Schuette described his involvement as being about protecting the dignity and privacy of students.

"But his actions don't support that goal. Trans students do go to school. They do have a right to go to a school with dignity and to have their privacy protected. And he's fighting against that."

Schuette said the guidelines are "another example of federal overreach."

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"The manner in which this directive was made ignored the essential role of parents in making decisions about their children, omitted participation by local schools, violated the Administrative Procedures Act and bypassed Congress' constitutional responsibilities."

The lawsuit says the guidelines violate federal laws by "rewriting the unambiguous term 'sex' ... to include 'gender identity,' thereby seeking to control even local school determinations regarding how best to designate locker room and bathroom assignments."

Contact Lori Higgins: 313-222-6651, lhiggins@freepress.com or @LoriAHiggins

Lawsuit Against Federal Transgender Guidelines