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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Floridians Speak Out Against Transgender Restroom Decision

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Friday, February 24, 2017   

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Trump administration says it’s handing over responsibility to states to decide how to handle restroom access for transgender students, and Florida activists are wasting no time in sending a message to state and local officials.

Lakey Love is one of the organizers of the Women's March Florida, which will take place on the Capitol steps at noon on Saturday. She said the decision to withdraw federal protections for transgender students goes far beyond bathrooms or locker rooms.

"It will give bullies, and even administrators and teachers, the path to discriminate against transgender students, to ignore inclusivity, and to ignore what amounts to hate crimes,” Love said.

She said her group wants to make it clear to lawmakers, school boards and superintendents that in the wake of the decision, many women will be taking up the fight for equality and protection for transgender students in Florida schools. Similar marches and rallies are planned in cities across the state.

While many in the LGBTQ community have been bracing for big changes under the Trump administration, Love said this particular decision was a major blow, given that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had pledged to protect all students and ensure they had a safe learning environment.

"To start with the children who have no institutional or structural ability to be able to speak for themselves, it's disheartening,” Love said.

Some Tallahassee area school boards have already committed to passing resolutions offering protections to transgender students, and Love said she hopes to see a bill before state lawmakers in the upcoming session.


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