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Trump administration working on trans bathroom guidelines

WASHINGTON D.C. (AP/WISH) — The White House says President Trump could soon roll out a new set of directives on the use of school bathrooms and gender. The Trump administration’s plan would likely reshape the guidelines put in place by former President Barack Obama last May.

The announcement is concerning LGBT groups across the country. According to The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, there are about 150,000 transgender children between the ages of 13 and 17 in the United States.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer didn’t provide many details on the plans being put together, but did say that the president believes this is a state issue, not a federal one.

Last May, the Obama administration’s guidance allowed students to use restrooms and participate in school athletics in accordance with their gender identity. There was also a warning that not adhering to those guidelines could result in the loss of federal funding.

Any change to those guidelines by the Trump administration would complicate court proceedings underway, including one heading to the supreme court in March concerning a transgender boy from Virginia, who recently won his appeal under the Obama-era guidelines.

“I would tell you that, I think there will be further guidance coming from DOJ in particular with respect to not just the executive order but also the case that’s in front of the supreme court. The president has maintained for a long time that this is a state’s rights issue and not one for the federal government.,” Spicer said on Tuesday.

There are a variety of state laws and policies in place. 15 states have explicit protections for transgender students. North Carolina is the only state with a law enacted restricting student’s bathroom access to their sex at birth, but so far this year, lawmakers in more than 10 other states are considering similar legislation.

The White House did not provide a timeline for the new guidelines, but the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in that case concerning gender and bathroom use on March 28th.CNN contributed to this report.

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