Athlete Ally Responds to DeVos Final Blow to Trans Students
January 15, 2020 (New York, NY) — In her final days in office, the staff of former Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sent out an internal memo laying out their policy of refusing to protect students from discrimination based on gender identity, despite the ruling of the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County in June 2020. This move is a deliberate attack on the rights of transgender students, underscoring a clear pathway for them to be discriminated against simply for who they are.
“It is especially cruel that during a time when transgender youth are experiencing high rates of isolation and suicidality, Betsy DeVos used her final days as Education Secretary to actively work to cause them harm,” said Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally. “Her actions fly in the face of a Supreme Court decision that guarantees LGBT protections under the law. Throughout her term, she has systematically targeted transgender youth and their right to safety in locker rooms, classrooms and on playing fields. To say our transgender youth deserve better is an understatement – they deserve, at bare minimum, leaders who see and respect them as human beings. DeVos and her staff have consistently failed in that.
We look forward to working with the Biden-Harris team to ensure that transgender youth are safe, welcome and included as their full selves in all areas of life.”