Education department says it won’t change transgender policy

By: The Associated Press

news@abc6.com 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rhode Island’s education commissioner says President Trump’s decision to rescind some federal protections transgender people won’t change the state’s policies.              

The Trump administration on Wednesday ended federal protections that allowed students use public school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identities.              

But Education Commissioner Ken Wagner issued a memo Thursday reaffirming those protections remain in the state’s schools.              

Wagner says there is an expectation that schools and school districts in the state will provide a safe environment for all students, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.              

Rhode Island passed a law in 2001 that explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.

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