--- title: Betsy DeVos: Transgender Guidance 'Executive Overreach' description: Secretary DeVos called it an example of "the Obama administration's overreach to suggest a one-size fits all federal government approach" canonical: https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-23T19:34:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:18:01.736Z article:section: Politics og:title: Devos: Transgender Guidelines Were ‘Overreach' og:description: The Education Secretary defended Trump's decision to rescind the Obama-era guidelines og:url: https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c1a6fa19dfe8c24/6988bb9f4dd215731defde32/gettyimages-644290640.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center February 23, 2017 in National Harbor, Maryland. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Devos: Transgender Guidelines Were ‘Overreach' twitter:description: The Education Secretary defended Trump's decision to rescind the Obama-era guidelines twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c1a6fa19dfe8c24/6988bb9f4dd215731defde32/gettyimages-644290640.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Said Old Transgender Guidelines Were 'Overreach' > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=87c0f010-2e57-4ad4-9774-c8d3e4c77b71&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Said Old Transgender Guidelines Were 'Overreach' [Watch (HLS stream): Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Said Old Transgender Guidelines Were 'Overreach'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nV7aveQP.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2017-02-23. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the Trump Administration's decision to rescind guidelines which told schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identities._ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 23, 2017 7:34 PM UTC Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the Trump Administration's decision to rescind guidelines which told schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identities. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 23, 2017 7:34 PM UTC Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the [Trump Administration’s decision](http://time.com/4679063/donald-trump-transgender-bathroom/?xid=homepage) to rescind guidelines which told schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identities. During an on-stage interview at the annual [Conservative Political Action Conference](http://time.com/4679396/cpac-donald-trump-conservatives/) near Washington, D.C., the recently confirmed secretary argued that the guidelines were an example of Obama Administration overstepping its legal authority. “Let me just say this issue was a very huge example of the Obama Administration’s overreach to suggest a one-size fits all federal government approach, top down approach to issues that are best dealt with and solved at a personal level, at a local level,” she said. DeVos’ statement on the [guidelines](http://time.com/4679063/donald-trump-transgender-bathroom/?xid=homepage), which were issued by the Obama Justice and Education Departments, came amid reports that she initially resisted the Trump Administration’s efforts to roll back the protections for transgender students. The [New York _Times_ reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/us/politics/devos-sessions-transgender-students-rights.html?%5Fr=1) Wednesday that DeVos was concerned about the level of harm that transgender students could face without the instructions in place. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump reportedly pushed DeVos to get on board. White House spokesman Sean Spicer pushed back on that story, saying there is “no daylight” between the President and his Cabinet. In a [statement](https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-secretary-education-betsy-devos-issues-statement-new-title-ix-guidance) released along with the new guidance on Wednesday, DeVos said that the Department has a responsibility to protect students from discrimination, bullying, and harassment but the decision related to transgender students should be left up to the states. “Schools, communities, and families can find – and in many cases have found – solutions that protect all students,” DeVos said, reiterating what she said on Twitter after the decision. > [](https://twitter.com/BetsyDeVosED/status/834564007910588417) ## Transcript [00:00] President Trump rescinded the Obama guidelines on [00:03] transgender, and [00:08] let's be very clear why he did that. President Obama [00:12] acted lawlessly, he promised us that he would use his [00:15] pen and his phone to circumvent Congress. He did so [00:18] repeatedly, including with these guidelines that [00:21] reinterpreted federal statute. So you put out a letter [00:24] afterwards, basically saying that you want to protect all [00:28] children, all students, and I wanted to give you an [00:30] opportunity to clarify what you meant and state what [00:33] you meant in the ethos of that letter. Sure. Thank you [00:36] Kali. Well I think the statement spoke for itself to a [00:40] large extent, but let me just say that this issue [00:44] was a very huge example of the Obama [00:48] administration's overreach, to suggest a one size fits [00:52] all federal government approach, top down approach [00:55] to issues that are best dealt with and solved At a [00:58] personal level and a local level. And I have made clear [01:02] from the moment I've been in this job that, it's our job [01:06] to protect students and to do that the fullest extent [01:09] that we can. And also to provide students, parents and [01:13] teachers with more flexibility around how education is [01:17] delivered and how education is experienced. And to [01:20] protect and preserve personal freedoms. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/"},"headline":"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Said Old Transgender Guidelines Were 'Overreach'","datePublished":"2017-02-23T19:34:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-07T07:18:01.736Z","description":"Secretary DeVos called it an example of \"the Obama administration's overreach to suggest a one-size fits all federal government approach\"","url":"https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/","keywords":["LGBT","Education","White House","Donald Trump","onetime","Betsy DeVos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c1a6fa19dfe8c24/6988bb9f4dd215731defde32/gettyimages-644290640.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c1a6fa19dfe8c24/6988bb9f4dd215731defde32/gettyimages-644290640.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center February 23, 2017 in National Harbor, Maryland.","caption":"U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center February 23, 2017 in National Harbor, Maryland.","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lgbt/","name":"LGBT"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/","name":"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Said Old Transgender Guidelines Were 'Overreach'"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Said Old Transgender Guidelines Were 'Overreach'","description":"Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the Trump Administration's decision to rescind guidelines which told schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identities.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nV7aveQP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-02-23T20:04:03.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nV7aveQP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/","duration":"PT1M23S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4680861/betsy-devos-transgender-students-overreach/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```