Arkansas lawmakers are joining with Gov. Asa Hutchinson to encourage schools to disregard an Obama administration directive that they must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity.
The Legislative Council on Wednesday passed by a voice vote a resolution supporting Hutchinson's criticism of the guidance from the federal departments of Justice and Education. The departments last week said that schools are obligated to treat transgender students in a way that matches their gender identity, even if their education records or identity documents indicate a different sex.
The resolution also asks the Justice Department to drop its challenge of a North Carolina law that directs transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate.
