MATT BEERS

READER

In response to the directive from the U.S. Department of Education issued on May 13, Rep. Andy Harris has urged school districts in the 1st District to ignore the order to allow students to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

In his letter to school superintendents, he promised to fight to ensure funding will not be withheld from school districts that do not follow the DOE’s guidance.

It is unfortunate that instead of fighting to permanently end the usurpation of power by the federal government, Harris has instead promised to fight the DOE and federal government on their interpretation of the word “sex” in federal law.

His fight, even if successful, will not prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future, nor will it result in anything more than allowing the government to encroach even further into the lives of the American people by dictating what bathroom they must use.

His stance is not one of liberty or protection, but rather a paternalistic and intrusive one. The issue we are facing is not who should be able to use what bathroom, what we are really faced with is whether or not a distant bureaucrat should be involved in decisions that affect local schools.

Decisions should be made at the local level, where parents and the community can directly discuss their concerns with the people making decisions. It is much easier to schedule an appointment with a member of the school board than it is to sit down with the president of the United States or the secretary of Education.

As someone who works in the public school system and has a degree in secondary education, I am acutely aware of the problems our teachers and communities face.

We must end the power of the federal government to use funding as a coercive tool in all areas of education, and rebuke any attempts of the government to use our children as a social experiment.

Sadly, Rep. Harris’ fight is focused on the wrong enemy and will ensure more government involvement in schools, not less. I ask Harris and the people of the 1st District to look beyond this issue and realize the larger implication of allowing the federal government to take a definitive stance on who should use a bathroom.

To prevent similar situations like this from occurring in the future, we must focus our efforts on restoring local control and getting the federal government completely out of education.

Matt Beers is the Libertarian candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District.

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