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<p>Guidance. An innocuous way for the president of the United States to declare, do as I say, or else.</p><p>President Barack Obama suggested, told, warned, threatened (take your pick) school districts across the nation last week to allow transgender students to use the restroom of their choice; if the districts disobey, there might be consequences.</p><p>Of course, Obama, through the U.S. departments of Justice and Education, said he was simply guiding school districts across the nation on how to handle this sensitive issue.</p><p>BUT &#8211; if they don&#8217;t comply, they could lose federal education aid or, worse, the big bad wolf, the Justice Department, could file a federal civil rights lawsuit against them.</p><p>Just what local school districts need: more concerns that their government subsidies could be withheld. Look how long it took the state last year to release funding for schools, because Gov. Tom Wolf and lawmakers squabbled over the state budget.</p><p>Wyoming Valley West, Crestwood, Pittston Area and other area school districts, you have been warned.</p><p>If you read the <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/542101/gender-identity-issue-still-rare-in-wyoming-valley-school-districts-officials-say" target="_blank">comments from area school officials</a> in last Saturday&#8217;s edition of the Times Leader, they already have been addressing the restroom issue without any guidance/warnings from the Obama administration.</p><p>Undoubtedly, this is a serious issue for some students and must be handled delicately and respectfully. However, it doesn&#8217;t seem to rise to the level whereby strong-arm directives from the federal government are needed to protect those students grappling with their sexual identities.</p><p>Dallas Superintendent Tom Duffy said his district already has been dealing with students who not only have sexual identity issues, but also those with privacy ones. Arrangements have been made to provide those students with a restroom they can use in solitude, he said.</p><p>How the heck did Dallas manage this without government assistance? Gutsy move, Dallas.</p><p>Wilkes-Barre Area Administrative and Student Services Director Rochelle Koury said all district psychologists and guidance counselors have received training. &#8220;This became a hot topic for us probably a year ago.&#8221; Is WBA also saying it took action without any guidelines from the commander in chief? Impressive.</p><p>Wyoming Area Superintendent Janet Serino said there were &#8220;some minor situations where students have asked to be able to use a restroom in the nurse&#8217;s office.&#8221; Did you hear that? They asked. They didn&#8217;t demand, probably because they didn&#8217;t want their personal lives to become a federal case. It sounds as if their requests were handled with thoughtfulness, dignity and common sense.</p><p>The Associated Press reported that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee praised Obama &#8220;for establishing policies that will better provide all our children an opportunity to thrive.&#8221; In the bathroom?</p><p>North Carolina&#8217;s Senate leader Phil Berger told the AP, &#8220;The last time I checked, the United States is not ruled by a king who can bypass Congress and the courts and force school-age boys and girls to share the same bathrooms and locker rooms.&#8221; Except, all the king&#8217;s men sued North Carolina after it passed a law prohibiting this.</p><p>Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said, &#8220;It is difficult to imagine a more absurd federal overreach into a local issue.&#8221; It is indeed.</p><p>Now we know what President Obama meant when he announced that he had a pen and a phone, and if he didn&#8217;t get cooperation from Congress, he&#8217;d continue taking matters into his own hands. Obama&#8217;s getting even more brazen as he prepares to leave office. He didn&#8217;t even run this one by the legislative branch.</p><p>And he&#8217;s apparently not concerned that this guidance measure could open the floodgates for scores of potential new lawsuits.</p><p>Will school district officials now be forced to err on the side of caution if, say, a senior male student claims to be a woman trapped in a man&#8217;s body and demands to use the girls&#8217; restroom or shower in their locker room? What if he only did this on a dare from some fellow students?</p><p>And why stop at schools? Surely there are transgender individuals working for private companies. Will the IRS find a way to fine or tax not only major retailers, but also small family businesses, unless they conform to this new edict/guidance?</p><p>Where will it stop? Maybe it won&#8217;t, until all men&#8217;s, women&#8217;s, girls&#8217; and boys&#8217; restrooms are designated unisex.</p><p>That should go over big.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Zeroing In</p><p>Betty Roccograndi</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Betty Roccograndi, a former Times Leader reporter and award-winning journalist, is a freelance columnist. Reach her by email at broccograndi@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Zeroing In: Obama’s restroom ‘guidance’ unneeded in area school districts, where commonsense solutions in place