Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., left, speaks before the Tennessee Republican Party's 2016 Statesmen's Dinner on Friday, May 13, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Corker are, from left, state Republican party chairman Ryan Haynes, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE - U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has joined with U.S. 25 other Senate Republicans to criticize the Obama administration's decision to issue guidance to the nation's public schools on how to treat transgender students when it comes to use of bathrooms, locker rooms and show facilities.
In their letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and U.S. Education Secretary John King, the senators complained that "deciding which bathroom, locker room, or shower transgender students should use is the kind of issue the states, parents, school boards, communities, students, and teachers should work out in a practical way with a maximum amount of respect for the individual rights of the students who are transgender as well as the rights of those who are not."
They also said that "if the solutions developed by states and communities violate the equal protection guarantees of the U.S. Constitution or federal civil rights laws, federal courts are available to protect students' rights."
The letter was drafted by Senate Education Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. Others signing the letter included Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, both Georgia Republicans.
Corker said in a statement that he finds it "very disappointing that the administration has chosen to create additional divisiveness around a sensitive issue, making it more difficult for local decision-makers to find solutions that work for their communities."