COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine issued a statement Friday regarding the recent decision by the Obama Administration on transgender students and school restrooms.

The Obama Administration says transgender students must be allowed to use restrooms that match their gender identity. If schools don't comply, they could lose crucial federal funding.

"This threat made by federal bureaucrats to nationalize and politicize the way schools address gender identity issues down to the level of school locker rooms and bathrooms is astonishing. Congress has not changed the law – and no 'guidance' from federal officials can do what Congress has declined to do," AG DeWine says.

"Our local schools across Ohio are best suited to work out how to advance the dignity and privacy interests of all students regarding matters of locker rooms and students’ gender identity," DeWine says. "There are many questions that, consistent with constitutional guarantees, are best left to the fair-minded, sensible determinations of our local communities. Under our system of government, how schools work to handle locker room questions involving students’ gender identity is one such issue."

DeWine says, "If the Obama Administration takes action to remove these decisions from Ohio parents and local schools, I will vigorously fight against such overreach. As our state’s Attorney General, I don’t determine local school policies on these issues – but neither should federal bureaucrats or the President of the United States."