In the wake of last week’s White House rejection of the Obama administration’s position that nondiscrimination laws require schools to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice, the Princeton Public Schools have stated that the District’s transgender policy will remain in place.

The state of North Carolina became the focal point of the “bathroom debate” a year ago when it barred transgender people from using bathrooms that do not match the sex on their birth certificates, and last week’s directive from the Trump Justice and Education Departments came only after a clash between Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, with Mr. Sessions finally prevailing.

The PPS policy, however, “assuring the rights of and protections for our transgender students” by giving them the right to choose which bathrooms they use, has been in place since December 2015, six months before the Obama administration mandate was enacted.

In a statement posted on the PPS website last week Superintendent Steve Cochrane wrote, “The Princeton Public Schools are deeply committed to diversity and to the safety and protection of all our students — including our gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender students. Our Board is proud of the policy it approved in December 2015.”

That policy states in part that “the responsibility for determining a student’s gender identity rests with the student or, in the case of young students not yet able to advocate for themselves, with the parent or guardian. Princeton Public Schools staff shall accept a student’s asserted gender identity when it is a sincerely held part of the student’s core identity.”

On the subject of restroom accessibility, the official Board policy states that “students shall have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity. Where available, a single stall, ‘gender neutral’ restroom (such as in the health office) may be used by any student who desires increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason.”

In last week’s statement Mr. Cochrane concluded, “The District will continue to monitor any new regulations that may come from the state, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of our LGBT students. Our goal is to create environments that are safe and inclusive for all those in our schools.”