Gov. Pete Ricketts is encouraging Nebraska school boards to ignore an Obama administration directive urging schools to let transgender students use the bathroom which matches their gender identity.

The Republican governor on Monday said the directive amounts to "bullying" and noted that it doesn't carry the force of law. Ricketts made the comments on his monthly call-in show on Lincoln radio station KFOR.

Ricketts said as a father, he'd be concerned about people of the opposite gender going into the same school bathroom as his children. He also urged Nebraska residents to contact their local school board members.

The guidance does not impose any new legal requirements, but officials say it's meant to clarify expectations of school districts that receive funding from the federal government.