Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/644004
ByLisaLeff TheAssociatedPress SANFRANCISCO Inclashes over which restrooms and locker rooms transgender students should use, the U.S. Department of Edu- cation has warned public schools that a 1970s sex dis- crimination law makes it il- legal to deny them access to the facilities of their choice. Schools around the coun- try, some fearing federal in- vestigations that could cost them millions in funding, generally have yielded to the guidance. Now, a back- lash is brewing. The South Dakota Leg- islature last week became the first to pass a bill that would require transgender children and teenagers to use the school facilities that correspond to their "chromosomes and anat- omy" at birth. Lawmakers in at least 22 other states have introduced similar legislation at odds with the government's interpre- tation of the U.S. law, the Human Rights Campaign said in a policy brief Mon- day. Gay rights groups are pressuring South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard to veto his state's bathroom access bill while working to stop others from advanc- ing. But with federal courts still considering the issue, and none so far validating the government's reason- ing, the statehouse-level defiance could test the lim- its of the Obama adminis- tration's advocacy on trans- gender rights. "Local control on this is- sue has taken a huge, huge hit," said Republican state Rep. Fred Deutsch, the author of the South Da- kota legislation. "This bill pushes back against fed- eral overreach and intru- sion into our lives, and is an attempt to regain con- trol of something as basic and common sense as pri- vacy rights for our children while at school." The Education and Jus- tice departments deter- mined in 2013 that trans- gender students were enti- tled to federal civil rights protections under its read- ing of Title IX, the 1972 law that bans sex discrimina- tion in education. The anal- ysis arose from a complaint by a transgender middle school student against a Southern California school district, which agreed to settle the case by updating its policies. Since then, the Education Department has reaffirmed its position in memos advis- ing school districts of their responsibilities under Title IX and in other complaint resolutions. The most re- cent was reached in De- cember with a suburban Chicago school district that agreed to allow a transgen- der high-schooler access to the girl's locker room once private stalls were installed. "Title IX's sex discrimi- nation prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereo- typical notions of masculin- ity or femininity and OCR accepts such complaints for investigation," the de- partment's Office for Civil Rights told districts in a 2014 memo on sexual vio- lence. The courts so far have been less accommodating. A federal judge last year dis- missed a lawsuit brought by a transgender student at the University of Pittsburgh who was expelled for using the men's locker rooms and bathrooms. A federal judge in Virginia also rebuffed a transgender teenager's re- quest for an order requiring his high school to allow him to use the boys' restrooms. Both decisions have been appealed. Jennifer Smith, an edu- cation lawyer in Chicago who represents a number of Illinois school districts, said the lack of legal clarity has left her clients unsure how to craft compliant and thoughtful policies. "They look at the Pitts- burgh case, they look at what OCR has said, they look at state and local laws, and it's really gray. No one knows what to make of it," Smith said. "We are mak- ing as practical decisions as we can in a really unset- tled area of law." Gay rights advocates say they will sue to over- turn the South Dakota law if the Republican governor doesn't veto it. Though the courts are still weighing school facility use, trans- gender employees have brought successful sex dis- crimination claims under the 1964 Civil Rights Act and due process clause of the Constitution, accord- ing to Dru Levasseur, who directs the Transgender Rights Project at LGBT le- gal group Lambda Legal. EDUCATION Statesfightingtransgender choice in school facilities TOBYTALBOT—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE A sign marks the entrance to a gender neutral restroom at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. A photo provided by George Velasco shows his niece, Yvette Velasco, one of the victims of the mass shooting at a social service facility in San Bernardino. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS By Tami Abdollah and Amanda Lee Myers The Associated Press WASHINGTON Some vic- tims and affected fami- lies in the mass shootings in southern California will file court papers in support of a U.S. magistrate judge's order that Apple Inc. help the FBI hack into a locked iPhone as part of the ter- rorism investigation, a lawyer and others said Monday. A Los Angeles attor- ney, Stephen Larson, said he represents at least sev- eral families of victims and otheremployeeshedeclined to identify but who were af- fected by the shootings. He said the U.S. attorney in the case, Eileen Decker, sought his help. Larson said he will file a brief supporting the Justice Department before March 3. The victims "have ques- tions that go simply be- yond the criminal investi- gation ... in terms of why this happened, how this happened, why they were targeted, is there anything about them on the iPhone — things that are more of a personal victim" view, Lar- son said. George Valasco, whose 27-year-old niece Yvette Velasco was killed in the shooting, said his brother — Yvette's father — agreed to be named in the brief. "Frankly it's difficult to understand why Apple would not jump at the op- portunity to help uncover whatever information the phone may contain," ac- cording to a family state- ment. "We're not talking about an ordinary case here — this is an act of terrorism, where 14 Amer- icans lost their lives, and many more were seriously injured. It's potentially a matter of national secu- rity, where other Amer- icans' safety could be at risk." An appeal by victims in the case gives the Justice Department additional support in a case that has sparked a national debate over digital privacy rights and national security in- terests. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym in California ordered Apple last week to assist investigators by cre- ating specialized software that would let the FBI rap- idly test random passcode combinations to try to un- lock the iPhone and view data stored on it. The county-issued iPhone 5C was used by Syed Farook, who with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at an of- fice holiday party in De- cember before they died in a gun battle with police. The government said they had been at least partly in- spired by the Islamic State. Some shooting victims back iPhone hack efforts INVESTIGATION By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California lawmakers should reject Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to give counties another $250 million for jail construc- tion, the state's nonparti- san legislative analyst said Monday. The state has already provided $2.2 billion to build jails since 2007, in- cluding $1 billion since it began sending lower-level offenders to county lock- ups instead of state prisons about four years ago. The Democratic governor failed to show the need for more construction money, the Legislative Analyst's Of- fice said in a report exam- ining Brown's criminal jus- tice budget. The budget he offered last month fails to take into account a 2014 voter initiative that lowered penalties for certain drug and property crimes, the analysts concluded. It also doesn't consider whether counties can use alter- natives to jailing offend- ers. The analysts noted the state's jail popula- tion dropped by 10,000 inmates after voters ap- proved Proposition 47. Brown's budget and state sheriffs say the money is needed to provide rehabil- itation programs, not more cells. "Program and treatment space is critical to reducing recidivism," said Depart- ment of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. As with the last round of funds, the money would go to provide the kind of rehabilitation programs that lawmakers and voters sought when they approved legal changes in recent years, California State Sher- iffs' Association spokesman Cory Salzillo said. Those laws changed the mission of jails, he said, and coun- ties need more and better space to provide treatment, education and health care to longer-term inmates and those with mental health and substance abuse prob- lems. The competitive grants would be available to 20 of the state's 58 counties that received only partial fund- ing in previous years or never had state help in re- placing or renovating jails. Brown says California needs to keep about 2,800 inmates there to meet a fed- eral court-ordered popula- tion cap. But the analysts say the state can comply other ways, and closing the prison east of Los Angeles would eventually save $131 million annually. BUDGET Analyst says California lawmakers should reject $250 million for jails By Jonathan J. Cooper The Associated Press SACRAMENTO A Califor- nia legislative committee planned Monday to ad- vance Gov. Jerry Brown's push to restructure taxes for health insurance plans, finalizing a monthslong ef- fort to prevent a massive hole in the state health care budget. The plan came after in- fluential groups on the right said they were not opposed to the tax proposal, giving Republicans political cover to help Democrats reach the supermajority required to pass the legislation. A spokesman for Demo- cratic Sen. Ed Hernandez of Azusa, Tim Valderrama, said a joint Assembly-Sen- ate committee would meet Monday to advance two bills that implement the ne- gotiated tax overhaul. California has for years levied a tax on Medi-Cal managed care organiza- tions, drawing down fed- eral matching dollars to help pay for the state's health insurance plan for the poor. But President Barack Obama's adminis- tration said it would not re- new the arrangement once it expires this summer un- less California restructured it to apply more broadly, in- cluding to lucrative private insurance plans. Allowing the tax to lapse would open a $1.1 billion hole in the budget for Medi- Cal, even as doctors warn that already-low payments make it difficult for them to take on patients covered by the program. Brown last year called a special session to resolve the issue but was unable to craft a plan that could clear the Legislature. The administration and insurers this month agreed to impose a new tax on in- surance plans, allowing the state to continue collecting the federal matching dol- lars. The new tax would be offset by reductions in other plans. The industry as a whole is expected to pay less in taxes, but each com- pany would be affected dif- ferently. Most of California's in- surance companies have publicly supported the mea- sure or at least said they're not opposed. The Califor- nia Association of Health Plans said the agreement would secure funding for Medi-Cal while "protecting affordability" of insurance premiums. Last week, the National Federation of Independent Business and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Associa- tion, two groups influential with Republicans, said they were not opposed to the leg- islation. SACRAMENTO Legislature to advance health-plan tax | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2016 8 A