In the Thursday announcement, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, "Every student should be able to have the full experience of attending school in America, including participating in athletics, free from discrimination." Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Alabama Rep. Neil Rafferty speaks in support of transgender rights during a rally outside the Alabama State House in 2021. The state is using the Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended abortion access as a federal right, to argue it has the authority to ban gender-affirming medical care. Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP hide caption
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has quietly signed into law a bill that would ban transgender students from playing girls' or women's sports in public schools and colleges. Jeffrey Collins/AP hide caption
Demonstrators gather on the steps to the State Capitol to speak against transgender-related legislation bills being considered in the Texas Senate and Texas House in May 2021 in Austin, Texas. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
Protesters rally at the Texas State Capitol on May 4, 2021 in Austin to stop proposed medical care ban legislation that would criminalize gender-affirming care. Erich Schlegel/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign hide caption
Rep. Wes Allen, sponsor of the House version of the bill, speaks during debate at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery on Thursday. Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP hide caption
Bodies are Cool by Tyler Feder, Téo's Tutu by Maryann Jacob Macias, and My Rainbow by Trinity Neal and DeShanna Neal Penguin Random House hide caption
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, seen here on Feb. 24, signed a bill into law Monday that restricts the education of LGBTQ topics in the state's public schools. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
State Rep. Kera Birkeland, a Republican high school basketball coach who led Utah's efforts to ban transgender girls from youth sports, addresses a crowd of supporters on the steps of the Utah State Capitol on Friday in Salt Lake City. Samuel Metz/AP hide caption
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says a weeklong celebration of Pride events in Austin schools this week violates state law. Here, he speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 1. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the legislature at the Statehouse, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, in Indianapolis. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption
Republican-pushed bills are seeking to deny minors access to hormone therapy and puberty blockers. Both are treatments that have been vetted and peer-reviewed by mainstream medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Demonstrators hold signs in support of transgender youth at the Texas State Capitol. Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT hide caption
Because attacks against transgender kids are increasing across the country, Minneasotans hold a rally at the capitol to support trans kids. UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption
Legal experts say so-called bounty hunter bills, including the Missouri measure that would let people sue anyone they suspect of helping a resident get an abortion in another state, are most certainly unconstitutional, with little chance of withstanding legal challenges. Here, abortion-rights activists gathered to protest Republican-led restrictions in St. Louis last September. Jim Salter/AP hide caption
Demonstrators hold signs in support of transgender youth and rights in response to recent proposed legal action against parents seeking gender affirming healthcare for their children to be charged as child abuse at the Rally for Trans Youth at the Texas State Capitol earlier this month. Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT hide caption
LGBTQ advocates march at a rally at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., to urge the company to publicly oppose what they call the "Don't Say Gay" that aims to limit instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation in schools. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP hide caption
Disney CEO Bob Chapek speaks at Disney's California Adventure Park in June 2021. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Jan. 11, 2022, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Iowa legislators on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, gave final approval to a bill that would prohibit transgender females from participating in girls high school sports and women's college athletics, sending a divisive bill likely to draw legal challenges to the governor. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption
Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, center, and Adri Perez, ACLU of Texas policy and advocacy strategist, listen to Emmett Schelling, executive director for the Transgender Education Network of Texas, speak at a rally in support of transgender children and their families outside a hearing at the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman/via AP hide caption
Texas resident Amber Briggle kisses her son. She says the onslaught of anti-trans legislation in the state is emotionally traumatizing. Amber Briggle hide caption