ACE Releases Brief on New Federal Guidance on Transgender Students
May 25, 2016

The Departments of Education and Justice released joint guidance May 13 to help educational institutions—colleges and universities, as well as PreK-12 schools—understand their responsibilities to serve transgender students. ACE has now released an issue brief on the guidance documents issued by the federal agencies.

Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, institutions receiving federal money may not discriminate based on a student's sex, including a student’s transgender status. The guidance materials—a Dear Colleague Letter and a Policies and Practices document—are directed to institutions “at all educational levels, including school districts, colleges, and universities,” although the Policies and Practices document focuses on elementary and secondary schools.

The ACE issue brief (391 KB PDF) looks at select aspects of the guidance and answers possible questions campuses may have, such as how institutions must refer to transgender students; whether and how to provide sex-segregated facilities to transgender students; and more. The issue brief is intended as general guidance only, and does not constitute legal advice.

​Related Content

ACE Issue Brief (391 KB PDF)
U.S. Departments of Education and Justice Release Joint Guidance Related to Transgender Students

Dear Colleague Letter
From the Departments of Education and Justice

Examples of Policies and Emerging Practices for Supporting Transgender Students
From the Department of Education

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972