Michigan Father Takes His Three Sons Out of School Over Trans Student 

A dad in Michigan pulled his three sons out of schoo Friday after his 9-year-old son told him that there was a transgender boy using the restroom while he was in the bathroom at Southwest Elementary School.

The transgender student was directed "to look at the wall," while the cisgender (nontrans) boy was instructed to stand closer to the urinal, reports the Detroit Free Press. The 9-year-old says that a staff member was present and gave those instructions to both students, according to Detroit TV station WDIV.

Matt Stewart, the father of the 9-year-old, told the Free Press that his children will remain absent from school "until there's a policy in place that keeps them from being humiliated or intimidated."

After taking his sons out of school, Stewart got in touch with officials at the school in Howell, Mich., and asked why he wasn't given prior notice about the school's policy regarding transgender students using the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

A spokesperson for Southwest Elementary provided Detroit TV station WXYZ with a letter school administrators sent to parents. The letter mentioned that the school was following federal guidance issued by the Obama administration on May 13, which suggests public schools that receive federal funding respect the gender identity of transgender students.

The guidance issued by the Department of Education and Department of Justice earlier this month detailed guidelines explaining the obligations that schools receiving public funds have to their transgender students.

These obligations include respecting the gender identity of transgender students by using the student's preferred name and pronouns, and ensuring them access to sports teams, educational opportunities, and sex-segregated facilities that correspond with their gender identity, according to a letter sent this month to public K-12 schools nationwide, as well as to colleges and universities that receive federal funding.

Eleven states are currently suing the Obama administration over that guidance for equitable treatment of transgender students. On Thursday, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant announced he is planning on joining the lawsuit.

Watch an interview wtih Stewart below.