Protecting Trans Students’ Rights

April 15, 2026

We are here yet again, writing to you with news of another devastating attack on trans youth. On April 6, 2026, the Department of Education announced that it would terminate previous Obama- and Biden-era agreements to safeguard the rights of trans students. Now, five school districts are not federally obligated to continue certain anti-discrimination protections, including measures to respect students’ preferred names and pronouns and allow them to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Should a district decline to uphold such protections, there will be no federal repercussions. The Delaware Valley School District in Pennsylvania has already done so; it rescinded its anti-discrimination protections for trans students via a unanimous vote.

The Trump administration frames the Department of Education’s decision as removing “unnecessary and unlawful burdens.” We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation vehemently disagree. It is absolutely deplorable to frame anti-discrimination protections as “unnecessary” or “unlawful.” Protecting human rights — including the right to education — is both necessary and lawful. Indeed it is a basic responsibility of government, not a “burden” on it. We join in the comments of Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center: the Department of Education’s decision is another “assault on education and assault on those who are most vulnerable to experiencing discrimination and harassment, including trans students.”