Louisiana has joined Texas and other states in a federal lawsuit filed today challenging the Obama administration over federal guidance directing schools to provide transgender students with facilities that match their gender identities.
The Washington Post reports 11 states are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, with Texas taking the lead.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. It states that this federal guidance “has no basis in law” and could cause “seismic changes in the operations of the nation’s school districts.”
The Obama administration’s guidance was outlined in a letter released this month by two federal agencies—the Justice Department and the Education Department—who said they were issuing it in response to questions from school districts and schools.
This lawsuit—which bears the names of nine states as well as a governor and another state’s education department—is the first filed in response to the administration’s letter.
While some politicians, parents, elected officials and school districts embraced the directive, others aggressively argued against it and said the administration was overstepping its authority.
Other states include: Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Utah and Georgia, as well as the Arizona Department of Education and Maine’s Republican Gov. Paul LePage. In addition, two school districts—one in Texas, the other in Arizona—are also included.
