| | | | |  | | By Juan Perez Jr. | | 
Adri Perez, ACLU of Texas Policy and Advocacy Strategist, speaks at a rally in support of transgender children and their families at the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, on March 2, 2022. | Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP | CRIMINALIZING CARE — A national furor surrounding transgender youth played out in a Texas courtroom Friday, as civil rights organizations convinced a local judge to halt Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's administration from investigating the use of gender-affirming care on children. — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he'd appeal the decision from Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum, asserted state investigations would continue and vowed the legal fight would reach the Supreme Court. — Other immediate impacts from the decision were unclear. Texas Children's Hospital, among the largest pediatric facilities in the U.S., is considering how to proceed after it paused hormone-related prescription therapies for transition-related care to protect workers and families from potential criminal penalties. — "This is the worst kind of politics," said Sam Ames, the advocacy and government affairs director of the Trevor Project LGBTQ suicide prevention group, to reporters in Texas. "It's the kind that assumes that there is an acceptable risk of casualties. The horrible thing is that Gov. Abbott wants this fight. It benefits him to have it play out publicly in an arena where we know these youth are watching." — But this election-season fight isn't limited to the Lone Star State. Republican lawmakers and conservative groups are moving to seize the potent politics of transition-related medical care — and criminalize the use of puberty-blocking drugs or other care on children. — It's a surefire way to rally conservatives as the party stokes fights over bathrooms and sports; Republicans have argued kids are too young to advocate for or receive such care. LGTBQ advocates say the proposals will further marginalize students, expose them to bullying and even push kids to self-harm. IT'S MONDAY, MARCH 14. WELCOME TO WEEKLY EDUCATION. There's a problem with the Biden administration's plan to monitor the nation's sewage in the hopes of preventing the next pandemic: Many states are not yet on board. Reach out with tips to today's host at jperez@politico.com and also my colleagues Jessica Calefati (jcalefati@politico.com), Michael Stratford (mstratford@politico.com ) and Bianca Quilantan (bquilantan@politico.com). And don't forget to follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro.
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House members meet in the Idaho Statehouse. | Keith Ridler/AP Photo | A 'LEGITIMATE STATE INTEREST' — Restricting gender-affirming care for children has prominent backing from influential conservative groups. The Promise to America's Children organization — backed by the Heritage Foundation, Family Policy Alliance, and Alliance Defending Freedom — has promoted federal legislation to ban care introduced by Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). — States are at the heart of the action. Last year, Arkansas became the first to approve a state ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth after lawmakers overrode a veto from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The measure is on hold as a lawsuit to stop it churns through federal court, but the American Civil Liberties Union has counted similar legislative efforts in 18 states this year. — One of this year's most significant efforts is happening in Idaho's Capitol. — State senators are considering sweeping amendments to existing Idaho law, approved by House lawmakers in a largely party-line vote last week, which would make the use of "puberty-blocking medication" and "performing surgeries that sterilize or mutilate" on people under age 18 a felony punishable with up to a life sentence in prison. — Adults who authorize gender-affirming care for a child, or help a child leave the state to receive such care, would also be guilty of a felony under the proposal. — "This bill is about protecting children, which is a legitimate state interest," bill sponsor and Republican state Rep. Bruce Skaug said last week at the top of a heated floor debate over the legislation. "If we do not allow minors to get tattoos, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol or sign legal contracts — why would we allow them to make decisions to cut away healthy organs, based on their feelings at puberty time?" he said. — Not all transgender people pursue available forms of medical treatment, and some never receive any care, partly because of high costs or a lack of access. — And despite support from Republican lawmakers, the bill has met stern opposition from the Idaho Medical Association. Organization CEO Susie Keller has cited concerns about criminalizing medical care and interfering with parental rights. Last year, association delegates approved a policy supporting gender-affirming care that's medically necessary and evidence-based. — "We are dealing with a very, very delicate population here, and I think we're being a little bit of a bull in a china shop," Democratic state Rep. Ilana Rubel said last week. "This is the heaviest imaginable hand of government overriding family decisions on the most critical and frankly, in many cases, life-threatening questions." — Eighty-five percent of transgender and nonbinary youth said their mental health was negatively impacted by a surge of recent state debates over transgender rights, according to a recent Morning Consult and Trevor Project poll.
| | | THE LATEST LABOR STRIFE — A Minneapolis teachers' strike looks set to drag into its second week beginning today, as the city school district insisted its budget couldn't absorb the demands of educators pushing to boost pay and bolster staffing. — "At this point, it's simply the ideological entrenchment of district leaders not wanting to give up control" that is holding up talks, said Shaun Laden, the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers president for education support workers, to reporters before negotiations resumed Sunday morning. "We have said we can negotiate over where these numbers come in at, but we've got to have enforceable contract language." — But on Saturday, Minneapolis Public Schools said the union's counterproposals "will steer the district toward long-term financial crisis." The school system said it faces a $59.5 million budget shortfall for its 2022–23 fiscal year and federal Covid-19 relief funds would reduce the deficit to only $21.5 million. "Union proposals will worsen it," the school district said of its financial outlook. — There's unrest to watch on the West Coast, too. Educators and school workers in Sacramento, Calif., authorized a strike of their own last week — but haven't yet set a walkout date — amid bitter talks over the district's pandemic-era staffing shortages and working conditions. — Two strikes in the Chicago suburbs are meanwhile set to continue today. Classes are canceled today at the three-campus Proviso District 209 high school system after roughly 300 educators went on strike March 4 amid stalled talks over staffing and salaries. Salary demands and high staff turnover also factored into a separate strike among 19 educators that began last week at the nearby Patton School District 133 system.
| | | A STALLED AGENDA — President Joe Biden's plan to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into child and eldercare programs is on the congressional backburner, POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Eugene Daniels report, in a situation that's alarming liberal advocates and Democrats who believe winning parents' support is key to keeping control of power in Washington. — An expanded tax credit that dramatically reduced child poverty expired and is unlikely to be revived. And the administration's ambitions for guaranteeing free pre-kindergarten and paid family leave are struggling to gain widespread traction in Congress. — Advocates for the care provisions have warned the White House and lawmakers that any reconciliation bill that leaves out large investments in the care economy risks alienating one of Democrats' most important voting groups ahead of the midterms.
| | | END THE EXTENSIONS? — Conservative pushback is growing against the Biden administration's extended pandemic moratorium on federal student loan payments, Michael reports. — Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), the chair of the Republican Study Committee, and Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) have unveiled new legislation that would block the Education Department from again extending the freeze on student loan payments and interest when it expires on May 1. — The GOP bill stands virtually no chance of advancing in the House where the Democratic majority has broadly supported Biden's student loan relief. But the legislation reflects the growing conservative opposition to the Biden administration's continued extension of the payment pause. THE POLITICAL BACKDROP — Trouble is, the payment pause appears to be popular. Recent tracking poll data from the Student Borrower Protection Center and progressive polling firm Data for Progress suggested two-thirds of likely voters support the suspension. — Plus, nearly 60 percent of surveyed likely voters support an additional extension of the payment pause. — Those conclusions are based on surveys of nearly 1,200 likely voters conducted between March 4–7. The margin of error was plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.
| | | THE CHILD COVID VACCINATION GAP — Covid-19 vaccination rates among U.S. children between ages 5–11 remained low through the beginning of 2022, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — That trend was particularly apparent in socially vulnerable regions. More than 90 percent of the country's 5- to 11-year-olds lived within five miles of an active Covid-19 vaccine provider a month after the government launched its pediatric vaccination program last fall. — An estimated 27.7 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by mid-January. But while more than half of vaccine providers were in places with high rates of poverty, unemployment and minority populations, child vaccination rates in those areas were much lower than in better-resourced communities. — Additional outreach is critical, researchers wrote, to improve vaccine confidence and increase coverage rates among children.
| | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | — Disney pledges to stop Florida campaign donations over 'Don't Say Gay' bill: POLITICO — How medical care for transgender youth became 'child abuse' in Texas: New York Times — Voter-approved Arizona education tax dead after court ruling: Associated Press — We've turned schools into battlefields, and our kids are the casualties: The Atlantic — An assistant principal read the children's book 'I Need a New Butt!' to second-graders. He was fired: Washington Post | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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