Newswise — BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Federal guidance issued today provides educators with greater clarity and the legal reasoning they need to support the rights of transgender students, says an Indiana University expert on school law who has studied and written about the issue.

The guidance, from the departments of Education and Justice, says K-12 schools and colleges should not discriminate against students on the basis of their gender identity, and it says students should be able to use sex-segregated facilities, such as restrooms and locker rooms, consistent with their gender identity.

Suzanne Eckes, professor in the School of Education at IU Bloomington, said the guidance is consistent with recent court decisions that have moved in the direction or protecting transgender rights.

“When we compartmentalize boys and girls based on their anatomy, that’s taking a very simplified approach to a much more nuanced issue,” she said. “Gender runs much deeper than that.”

The guidance from the Obama Administration comes amid a controversy over whether transgender individuals should be able to use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity. The administration has warned North Carolina that it could lose federal education funding over a law that requires students to use facilities consistent with the sex on their birth certificate.

Eckes notes that legal guidance from the courts is limited. Recent court decisions from the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Maine Supreme Court, along with decisions by federal civil rights agencies, have upheld the rights of transgender individuals. In one exception, a federal judge in Pennsylvania supported a university that expelled a transgender man over use of a men’s locker room.

The federal guidance issued today also says schools can provide additional privacy options for any student for any reasons. It says schools may increase individual privacy within shared facilities.

Eckes said there is likely to be vocal opposition to the Obama administration’s position, but school leaders should understand the clear message that they could possibly lose federal funds if they don’t protect the rights of transgender students, who often face discrimination and harassment.

“I’m a former public school teacher,” she said. “I get how this could be a difficult issue on the ground. But certainly, because of the federal funds involved, it’s something we need to pay attention to, at least until there is additional litigation or the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue to provide greater clarity.”