William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad criticized President Barack Obama Monday, claiming the White House has engaged in "overreach" by threatening to withhold federal money from schools if they don't allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity.

Branstad, responding to a reporter's question at his weekly news briefing, cited the Obama administration's focus on transgender rights as an example of why many Americans are upset with the direction of the country.

"I think there are bigger and more important issues that the president should be addressing, such as protecting the security of Americans and more effectively addressing the threat to our very lives and well-being, and the targeting of military and law enforcement and now of business people that we see occurring from our enemies," Branstad said.

Iowa schools: We already accommodate transgender students

Since 2007, Iowa law has prohibited discrimination based on gender identity, and many schools have already made restroom and locker room accommodations, with some creating private restrooms and changing areas to meet the needs of their transgender students.

But the federal guidelines appear to take the requirement a step farther, requiring public schools to allow transgender students to have access to all restrooms and locker rooms associated with their gender identity. Private restrooms set aside for transgender students are not an acceptable workaround, the administration said.

Branstad, who spoke at the Iowa Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge, said local schools should be making the decisions regarding transgender students.

"But now you have the federal government stepping in and saying, 'If you don’t do it our way we are going to withhold your federal money.' I think that is wrong," Branstad said. "We want to treat everybody with respect and dignity, but we don’t think the federal government ought to be coming in and threatening to withhold education money to local school districts in Iowa."

The Iowa Department of Education currently instructs public schools that they cannot force students to use a bathroom that reflects the gender of their birth if it does not reflect the gender they identify with. Absent a safety concern, schools should allow the use of a bathroom or locker room that reflects students' gender identity, a spokeswoman said.

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The Family Leader, a Christian conservative organization, contacted Iowans Monday and urged them to sign an online petition asking Branstad to resist the Obama administration's guidance on transgender matters involving schools. "Common sense needs to prevail, and our governor and school officials need to protect our young people from harm of having someone of the opposite gender in their locker rooms, in their showers, that kind of thing," said Chuck Hurley, vice president and chief counsel of The Family Leader. "It is hard to fathom that we even have to say that. But now we do."

The Family Leader wants Branstad to "fight vigorously for the correct interpretation of federal Title IX law," which prevents sex discrimination in education, Hurley said.