President Trump on Wednesday withdrew guidelines issued last year by President Obama requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.

With typical heavy-handedness, Obama threatened to withhold federal funds from schools that did not comply. Thirteen states challenged the order and a federal judge stopped it with an injunction in August. The court noted that the administration hadn't gone through a required formal public review and argued that states and local schools should be the ones to make these decisions without interference from the feds.

The Obama administration's argument depended on the dubious assertion that Title IX, a federal law banning sex discrimination in education, extends beyond one's biological sex to the gender of one's own choice.

As with most battles in the culture wars, the question of whether Title IX protections cover bathroom options will probably be settled only by litigation. The Supreme Court is reviewing whether to rule on a similar case in Virginia.

Like other culture war battles, this policy change has been met with hyperbole and misrepresentation by the Left, which accused Trump of "rolling back protections" for transgender students. An article in the Daily Beast stated that with the change, "the federal government has effectively declared open season on transgender kids."

But nothing will change for the vast majority of schools, because the injunction had prevented enforcement of Obama's order in most districts.

In addition, the administration announced that it will continue to study the issue and made a special plea to schools to protect transgender students from bullying. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement that every school in America has a "moral obligation" to protect all students from bullying and harassment.

Obama waited until the final months of his term to issue these guidelines, perhaps because he and his party are more interested setting traps for incoming Republicans, stoking the culture war, and signaling their supposed virtue than in protecting vulnerable citizens.

Speaking of virtue signaling, Chicago Public Schools defiantly won't alter its transgender policies and has "no intention of backing down no matter what Trump does to discriminate against the LGBTQ community."

Perhaps it's appropriate that one of the worst school districts in the country should entirely miss the point. The Trump administration's explicit policy is to return decision-making to the states, from which Obama improperly sought to take it. The Constitution gives the federal government no role in education. Public schools are paid for through state and local taxes. It's up to states and local school districts to establish education policies that fit their needs and preferences. So, if Chicago wants to follow the Obama guidelines, more power to it. It will be up to local voters rather than federal bureaucrats to pass judgment on that.

Ultimately, the debate surrounding transgender bathrooms in schools is not about equality or tolerance, privacy or protecting a vulnerable class of people. It's about jurisdiction.

It's also about parents. The few districts that implemented Obama's mandate were assailed by protests from parents because it denied them a say in the policy. It stated that equal access was to be granted "even in circumstances in which other students, parents, or community members raise objections or concerns."

Schools must be guided by compassion and respect when dealing with students who are struggling with identity problems. But respect must also be shown for parents, local schools and the Constitution. That's what the Trump administration's action does.