Education

Obama Delivers Commencement Speech At Rutgers University

Obama gave one of his last graduation speeches as a sitting president at Rutgers University Sunday. He was persuaded to come after receiving letters from the student body president's grandmother.

Obama Delivers Commencement Speech At Rutgers University
Listen· 1:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/478272674/478272675" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Pre-Obama Directive, NYC Public Schools Embraced Transgender Rights

Mary Louise Kelley talks to Jared Fox, LGBT liaison for New York City's public schools. New York has had policies in place relating to transgender students for years.

Pre-Obama Directive, NYC Public Schools Embraced Transgender Rights
Listen· 5:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/478188335/478188336" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

U.S.

Graduation Readers At MIT Go The Extra Mile To Pronounce Names Correctly

Graduation time is here and that means those folks who read names at graduation ceremonies are busy practicing. MIT takes pronunciation very seriously — but they'll still get some of them wrong.

Graduation Readers At MIT Go The Extra Mile To Pronounce Names Correctly
Listen· 4:17
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/478114689/478114690" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Law

White House And N.C. Governor In War Of Words Over Transgender Guidance

White House press secretary Josh Earnest and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory each had strong opinions on the federal government's new guidelines about transgender students and school bathrooms.

White House And N.C. Governor In War Of Words Over Transgender Guidance
Listen· 2:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/478076160/478076161" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Barbershop

Barbershop: Bathroom Laws, Women In The Workplace And High Heels

Political blogger Dru Ealons, columnist Gayle Trotter, and author Josh Levs discuss controversy over transgender rights, working as a single mother, and wearing what you want at work.

Barbershop: Bathroom Laws, Women In The Workplace And High Heels
Listen· 11:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/478076167/478076171" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

U.S.

In Many School Districts, Transgender Bathroom Access Is The Norm

A White House directive issued yesterday lays out what it says schools need to do under existing federal law to accommodate transgender students. We went to schools in California, Kansas and Alabama.

In Many School Districts, Transgender Bathroom Access Is The Norm
Listen· 6:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/478040471/478040472" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Law

Transgender High School Student Responds To White House Guidelines

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Gavin Grimm, a Virginia high school student, who fought his school district to win the right to use the boy's bathroom, after the district limited bathroom use by "biological gender."

Transgender High School Student Responds To White House Guidelines
Listen· 4:00
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477974496/477974497" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Law

N.C. Governor Calls Obama Transgender Guidelines A 'Massive Overreach'

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory on the state's bill requiring people to use the appropriate bathroom based on the gender listed on their birth certificate.

N.C. Governor Calls Obama Transgender Guidelines A 'Massive Overreach'
Listen· 5:07
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477974503/477974504" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How Schools Around The Country Are Treating Transgender Student Rights.
LA Johnson/NPR

NPR Ed

How Schools Around The Country Are Treating Transgender Student Rights

Some states and districts are ahead of the recommendations announced today by the Obama Administration. Some are in conflict.

How Schools Around The Country Are Treating Transgender Student Rights
Listen· 3:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477919711/477974574" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Jose Lara, dean of Santee High School in Los Angeles, talks about the transgender issue beside the school's gender-neutral restrooms. Schools have new governmental guidance on the issue provided by the Justice and Education departments.

Jose Lara, dean of Santee High School in Los Angeles, talks about the transgender issue beside the school's gender-neutral restrooms. Schools have new governmental guidance on the issue provided by the Justice and Education departments. Mark Ralston/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Mark Ralston/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Here's Exactly What The Administration Is Saying About Transgender Students

The Education and Justice departments have given schools guidance about prom, sports, privacy and more.

Around the Nation

Principal Weighs In On Obama Directive On Transgender Bathrooms

The directive to public schools says transgender students should use the gender bathroom they identify with. Renee Montagne talks to Jayne Ellspermann, principal of West Port High School in Florida.

Principal Weighs In On Obama Directive On Transgender Bathrooms
Listen· 4:23
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477900485/477900486" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Around the Nation

Reaction To White House Directive On Transgender Bathrooms

The Obama administration says schools must allow transgender students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. David Greene talks to Matt Sharp of the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Reaction To White House Directive On Transgender Bathrooms
Listen· 5:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477900506/477900507" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A sign marks the entrance to a gender-neutral restroom at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt.
Toby Talbot/AP

The Two-Way

White House Sends Schools Guidance On Transgender Access To Bathrooms

The administration says it authored the notice because "many parents, schools and districts have raised questions about this area of civil rights law."

White House Sends Schools Guidance On Transgender Access To Bathrooms
Listen· 3:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477896804/477900555" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Francisco and Frankie at one of the fountains on the Stanford campus that Francisco cared for over the years.

Francisco and Frankie at one of the fountains on the Stanford campus that Francisco cared for over the years. Courtesy of the Preciado family hide caption

toggle caption Courtesy of the Preciado family

StoryCorps

A Stanford Family: Groundskeeper Dad Cultivates His Son's Classroom Dream

They both went to the prestigious school — though for different reasons. Frankie attended undergrad there, but it was his father, the school's groundskeeper, who inspired him to pursue that education.

A Stanford Family: Groundskeeper Dad Cultivates His Son's Classroom Dream
Listen· 2:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477694356/477900573" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Court papers say FastTrain, which closed down in 2012, engaged in deceptive advertising and pressure tactics, such as hiring former strippers to recruit for the school.
Fanatic Studio/Getty Images

NPR Ed

As Feds Crack Down On For-Profit College, A Founder Heads To Prison For Fraud

FastTrain, a for-profit school in Florida, collected some $35 million in student loans and federal financial aid and used deceptive advertising and pressure tactics to recruit students.

As Feds Crack Down On For-Profit College, A Founder Heads To Prison For Fraud
Listen· 3:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477655591/477770027" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Two states now require that academic transcripts note that a student has been punished for campus sexual assault.

Two states now require that academic transcripts note that a student has been punished for campus sexual assault. Christopher Leigh/Imagezoo/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Christopher Leigh/Imagezoo/Getty Images

Push Grows For A 'Scarlet Letter' On Transcripts Of Campus Sexual Offenders

In Virginia and New York, academic transcripts must note if a student has been punished for sexual assault. Supporters say it's a matter of public safety. Critics say the move is draconian and unfair.

Push Grows For A 'Scarlet Letter' On Transcripts Of Campus Sexual Offenders
Listen· 4:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/477656378/477693571" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript