On May 13, 2016, the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights and the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice jointly issued a Dear Colleague Letter on their interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) and its implementing regulations as applied to transgender students.

Among the key provisions of the Guidance is the DOJ's and OCR's interpretation of Title IX to require school districts to treat students consistent with their expressed gender identity. According to DOJ and OCR, a school district's obligation in this regard is triggered by the statement of a student or their parent/guardian that they will be asserting a gender identity different from previous representations.