Texas AG sues over Obama guidance to schools on transgender students

Click ahead for 7 things you need to know about the LGBT policy and its tie to public schools.

A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill on May 11, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. Debate over transgender bathroom access spreads nationwide as the U.S. Department of Justice countersues North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory from enforcing the provisions of House Bill 2 (HB2) that dictate what bathrooms transgender individuals can use. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images) less Click ahead for 7 things you need to know about the LGBT policy and its tie to public schools.

A gender neutral sign is posted outside a bathrooms at Oval Park Grill on May 11, 2016 in Durham, North Carolina. ... more Photo: Sara D. Davis Photo: Sara D. Davis Image 1 of / 51 Caption Close Texas AG sues over Obama guidance to schools on transgender students 1 / 51 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN -- Texas is teaming up with 10 other states to sue the federal government to over its guidance for transgender students using school bathrooms.

The lawsuit, fueled by rancor across the nation over transgender rights and privacy concerns, was filed against the federal government Wednesday by Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to combat a directive to schools issued earlier this month to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that best corresponds to their gender.

"This represents just the latest example of the current administration's attempts to accomplish by executive fiat what they couldn't accomplish through the democratic process in Congress," Paxton told reporters.

Paxton's lawsuit is joined by Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

The lawsuit, which had been highly-anticipated, is an attempt to ensure Texas can ignore the directive issued earlier this month, which does not carry the force of law but delivered the message that denying students access to the bathroom that best matches their gender identity could come at the price of losing federal dollars.

"Defendants have conspired to turn workplaces and educational settings across the country into laboratories for a massive social experiment, flouting the democratic process, and running roughshod over commonsense policies protecting children and basic privacy rights," Paxton charged in the suit.

Paxton is suing on behalf of Harrold Independent School District, northwest of Wichita Fallas, whose board approved a policy Monday mandating status quo bathroom privileges limiting usage to students the gender indicated on their birth certificates.

Superintendent David Thweatt said none of the students there are transgender to his knowledge.

The legal challenge follows weeks of consternation in Texas over which bathrooms transgender students and adults should use, including insistence from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick that the Legislature tackle that issue next legislative session.

On Wednesday, Paxton scheduled a 2 p.m. news conference to discuss the lawsuit.

Ten other states joined Texas in the 32-page lawsuit, which named the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice and Labor.

The federal government did not immediately respond to the lawsuit.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national civil rights organization, blasted the lawsuit before it was even formally announced, describing it as a "shameful attack on transgender youth he is responsible for protecting."

"Countless schools all across the country have policies in place that ensure transgender students are safe, protected from discrimination and can live authentic lives," said Jay Brown, the group's spokesman. "Ken Paxton's use of taxpayer resources to dismantle such protections is a reckless and expensive abdication of his responsibilities, and he should be held accountable."