The Trump administration has ended federal protection for transgender students that required public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms matching their chosen gender identity.

The administration lifted the federal guidelines on Wednesday that had been issued by the Obama administration back in May.

It will now be up to states and school districts to interpret federal anti-discrimination law and determine whether students should have access to restrooms in accordance with their expressed gender identity and not just their biological sex.

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The Trump administration has lifted federal guidelines that said transgender students should be allowed to use public school bathrooms matching their chosen gender identity

Sources told CNN on Wednesday that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was originally opposed to the draft proposal on lifting the guidelines.

However, she publicly backed the decision, saying: 'This is an issue best solved at the state and local level.

'Schools, communities, and families can find - and in many cases have found - solutions that protect all students.'

A source said that supporting the decision was 'not what Betsy wanted to do'.

She reportedly suggested to Trump in a meeting that the reversal went against the promises they had both made in public to protect all students.

DeVos reinforced the point in her statement on Wednesday, saying: 'We have a responsibility to protect every student in America and ensure that they have the freedom to learn and thrive in a safe and trusted environment.

'This is not merely a federal mandate, but a moral obligation no individual, school, district or state can abdicate.

'At my direction, the Department's Office for Civil Rights remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools.'

The Obama administration had told public schools to grant bathroom access even if a student's chosen gender identity isn't the same as what's in their record

Activists and protesters with the National Center for Transgender Equality rally in front of the White House on Wednesday after the Department of Education announced plans to overturn the school guidance on protecting transgender students

A letter sent to schools nationwide by the Justice and Education departments says the earlier directive caused confusion and lawsuits over how it should be applied.

The letter says the guidance is lifted, but anti-bullying safeguards will not be affected.

Although the Obama guidance was not legally binding, transgender rights advocates said it was necessary to protect students from discrimination.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said President Donald Trump 'made it clear throughout the campaign that he is a firm believer in states' rights and that certain issues like this are not best dealt with at the federal level.'

Conservative activists hailed the change, saying the Obama directives were illegal and violated the rights of fixed-gender students, especially girls who did not feel safe changing clothes or using restrooms next to anatomical males.

'Our daughters should never be forced to share private, intimate spaces with male classmates, even if those young men are struggling with these issues,' said Vicki Wilson, a member of Students and Parents for Privacy.

'It violates their right to privacy and harms their dignity.'

But the reversal was a setback for transgender rights groups, which had been urging Trump to keep the guidelines in place. Advocates say federal law will still prohibit discrimination against students based on their gender or sexual orientation.

Still, they say lifting the Obama directive puts children in harm's way.

Activists stationed themselves outside the White House on Wednesday after the announcement was made

Although the Obama guidance issued in May was not legally binding, transgender rights advocates say it was necessary to protect students from discrimination

'Reversing this guidance tells trans kids that it's OK with the Trump administration and the Department of Education for them to be abused and harassed at school for being trans,' said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

Protesters with the National Center for Transgender Equality rallied in front of the White House on Wednesday after the Department of Education announced the plans to overturn the school guidance on protecting transgender students.

The 16-year-old singer who performed the national anthem at Trump's inauguration spoke out against the president as the repeal was announced.

Jackie Evancho, whose older sister Juliet is transgender, had pleaded with the president to have a discussion about transgender rights just hours before the announcement was made.

'I am obviously disappointed in the @POTUS decision to send the #transgender bathroom issue to the states to decide. #sisterlove,' she wrote.

'@realDonaldTrump u gave me the honor to sing at your inauguration. Pls give me & my sis the honor 2 meet with u to talk transgender rights.'

About 150,000 young people - 0.7 per cent of those between the ages of 13 and 17 - in the United States identify as transgender, according to a study by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

Jackie Evancho, the 16-year-old who performed at Trump's inauguration (pictured), spoke out against the president's decision to repeal an Obama directive on transgender bathrooms

Jackie Evancho, whose older sister Juliet is transgender, had pleaded with the president to have a discussion about transgender rights just hours before the announcement

The Obama administration had told public schools to grant bathroom access even if a student's chosen gender identity isn't the same as what's in their record.

The guidance was based on its determination that Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education and activities, also applies to gender identity.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement on Wednesday that the Obama guidance did not sufficiently explain how federal sex discrimination law known as Title IX also applies to gender identity.

It was not clear what immediate impact the change would have on schools, as a federal judge in Texas put a temporary hold on the Obama guidance soon after it was issued - after 13 states sued.

But it could have consequences for unresolved court cases dealing with Title IX.

They include a case set to be heard by the Supreme Court in March involving a transgender teen who was denied a choice of bathroom access in Virginia.

Courts are unsettled about whether, in the absence of guidance from the federal government, anti-discrimination laws require schools to allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity.

The high court could decide not to hear the case and direct lower courts to decide that question instead.

Similar lawsuits are still playing out across the country.