State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has issued a public statement and “Dear Colleague” letter to all California local educational agencies (LEAs), in response to the “Dear Colleague” letter sent to all schools by the U.S. Department of Education on Friday morning.

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While the letter sent by Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor rolled back Biden administration rules that extended Title IX protections to students on the basis of gender identity, Thurmond’s letter and public statement, also sent Friday, pushed back. He affirmed that California schools will continue extending protections against discrimination to all students on the basis of gender, gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation.

“In California, ‘all’ still means all,” he wrote in a press statement. “While the Trump Education Department announced that they will no longer protect all students from discrimination, California law is unaffected by recent changes to federal policy, and continues to provide safeguards against discrimination and harassment based on gender, gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation.”

“While federal guidance devolves, our commitment to safeguarding the rights of all students persists,” he added, echoing statements many state educators made shortly after Trump’s election on Nov. 5.

The U.S. DOE notice was sent to the nation’s K-12 schools and colleges. It indicated the federal agency would revert to policies issued during President Trump’s first term that limited schools’ liability in sexual misconduct cases and afforded stronger rights to students accused of sexual harassment and assault.

At the same time, Trainor’s note also informed schools not to expect the department to enforce a “revised interpretation” of Title IX, the 1972 law banning sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal funding. That change, announced during the Biden administration, expanded the law’s scope, recognizing harassment or exclusion based on sexual orientation and gender identity to be a form of discrimination.

The DOE’s announcement was no surprise, as Trump, during his presidential bid made anti-transgender themes one of the centerpieces of his campaign, the Associated Press reported shortly after the Nov. 5 election. He pledged to impose wide-ranging restrictions and roll back civil rights protections for transgender students.