Conservative leaders have expressed outrage over U.S. President Barack Obama's directive to all public schools to allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker room consistent with their gender identity.
Speaking to Fox News's Todd Starnes, Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins declared that "if the President chooses to go forward with this outrageous order – then Congress should begin impeachment proceedings."
In a letter released Friday, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education told U.S. public schools that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in education programmes and activities which includes student's gender identity and transgender status by recipients of federal financial assistance.
It summarises a school's obligations under Title IX regarding transgender students.
Schools were told that compliance is tied to receiving federal funding.
"As a condition of receiving Federal funds, a school agrees that it will not exclude, separate, deny benefits to, or otherwise treat differently on the basis of sex any person in its educational programs or activities unless expressly authorized to do so under Title IX or its implementing regulations," the letter said.
However, the FRC said the Obama administration's interpretation of "sex discrimination" to include transgender students is poorly supported.
"Once again the Obama administration is going beyond the limits of their constitutional authority to rewrite laws legally adopted by Congress," Perkins said. "Under the guise of 'protecting students from discrimination,' these federal agencies are using the bully pulpit to strip parents and local school districts of the right to provide a safe learning environment for their children."
He urged parents to demand school boards not to sacrifice the safety of children out of fear of losing federal funding, which amounts to only 9 cents of every educational dollar.
Attorney General Loretta Lynch is supporting the Obama policy.
"There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex," she said.
Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd told Starnes that the new policy is "an outrageous attack on our Creator Himself, upon human sexuality and morality and a further advancement of the flagrant attack on religious freedom in our culture."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is outraged by President Obama's action, saying that he is turning bathrooms into courtroom issues.
"Our country is in crisis and Texas must lead the way forward," he said.
He and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory are teaming up to fight back. North Carolina has been sued by the U.S. government to stop the implementation of House Bill 2, which requires transgenders to use restrooms and other public facilities based on their biological gender.
Tennessee Rep. Diane Black blamed the Obama administration for endangering students with the transgender bathroom policy.
"It is worth nothing that this directive does not carry the force of law – and I would encourage Tennessee school officials to continue following their consciences," she said.
Penny Young Nance, president of the Concerned Women for America, called the move the left's way of using children to accomplish its mission of social engineering.
"The adults closest to these children should decide what's best for all the children in the school. Safety and kindness should be the guiding principles, not threats from the bullies in Washington," she said.
In the letter, it is said that Title IX allows schools to provide sex-segregated restrooms, locker rooms, shower facilities, housing and athletic teams but "transgender students must be allowed to participate in such activities and access such facilities consistent with their gender identity."
It prohibits schools from requiring transgender students to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so.
"A school may, however, make individual-user options available to all students who voluntarily seek additional privacy," the letter added.
