Yesterday, the US Departments of Education and Justice rescinded protections for transgender and non-binary students under Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in schools. The University of Washington and our state laws unequivocally recognize that transgender people deserve to be free from discrimination on the basis of gender expression and identity, and we will stand by these bedrock principles of equity and inclusion.
I want to reassure everyone on our campuses that at the UW, our support for trans and all LGBTQ students will not change. For example, working with our Q Center, the UW has undertaken a renovation project to make gender-neutral bathrooms available in most buildings within centralized campus. The Office of the Registrar gives all UW students campuses the option to have their preferred names appear in the UW Directory and other UW systems. The Q Center is also a great source for LGBTQ students and community members looking for resources and community support networks.
This is an issue of human rights and I urge our community to stand together, as well as to remember that each of us is different in countless ways but that our rights as people must be respected.