Pres. Obama steps into transgender bathroom fight

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Just as the Michigan Board of Education was about to review thousands of public comments so it can offer a Statement and Guidance on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments for LGBTQ Students, the Obama Administration stepped in and gave a directive to public schools about transgender bathroom access.

President Obama told U.S. public school districts to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity, rather than their gender at birth. For the LGBTQ community, it's a huge win.

Tom Nelson and his wife, Linda, both have children from previous marriages who identify with the LGBTQ community. They say the President's decision is a good one.

"We both applaud it," Tom said. "Transgender kids have been using the bathroom of their gender identity and no one has any problems "

However, not everyone is pleased with the directive.

"This directive makes it look like school districts are incompetent to be able to handle this. We believe it's a complete overreach of federal government." Superintendent for Madison District Public Schools Randy Speck said.

In a statement the Michigan Department of Education tells Fox 2:

"Any time the federal government asserts its influence onto an issue, it has an impact - primarily in regards to civil rights and federal funding. The goal is for our schools to provide safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments for all students."

State officials say they won't take any action on this issue until at least August and the Nelsons hope they follow the Obama Administration