Obama orders schools: Transgender students can choose which bathroom

The Obama administration has released its guidance directing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity.

The Departments of Education and Justice on Friday sent the guidance to all U.S. public schools that receive federal money in order to "ensure that all students, including transgender students, can attend school in an environment free from discrimination based on sex."

The guidance cites Title X of the Education Amendments of 1972 that prohibits schools receiving federal money from discriminating based on a student's sex, including a student's transgender status. The guidance clarifies the law to put schools on notice that both the Education and the Justice Departments are interpreting the law to include a student's gender identity as the student's sex.

"There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement. "This guidance gives administrators, teachers and parents the tools they need to protect transgender students from peer harassment and to identify and address unjust school policies."

"I look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Education — and with schools across the country — to create classroom environments that are safe, nurturing, and inclusive for all of our young people," she said.