Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. answered reporter's questions yesterday during a trip to Charleston, WV.

The Gazette-Mail asked him how serious the Education Department would be in denying the funding for school systems that deny transgender students access — if the guidance King’s department has issued, based on its legal interpretations, ultimately survives a Texas federal judge’s nationwide, preliminary injunction blocking it.

I can’t comment on the specifics of the ongoing litigation,” King said. “But what I would make very clear is that no student should ever feel uncomfortable or unsafe in school and schools have a responsibility to make sure that they take care of their students. And part of taking care of their students is making sure they feel comfortable in school.

Our position has been and remains that Title IX is very clear in protecting gender identity, and you know courts across the country have agreed with that. There’s the exception of this Texas court but we continue to be committed to the protection of students, and I think at the end of the day educators at the local level, they want to make sure their kids feel comfortable in school and I’m confident that educators will continue to do the right thing.

--Sec. King

Of the superintendents of the state’s 55 counties, each of which has a single county-wide public school system, Hardy County Superintendent Matthew Dotson remained as of last month the only one publicly saying his school system will comply with the guidance that transgender students — while they can be offered private facilities — must be allowed to use gender-identity matching accommodations if they so desire.

As for Kanawha County, West Virginia’s largest public school system, a couple of school board members said transgender students already are allowed access to bathrooms and other accommodations matching their gender identities, though Kanawha Superintendent Ron Duerring wouldn’t say as much to the Gazette-Mail.

On Monday SCOTUS announced it did not take any action on the case G. G. v Gloucester County School District out of the fourth circuit.

According to the SCOTUSblog, a law blog written by attorneys who follow the Supreme Court closely, the court sometimes does not act on a case until its been discussed in at least two conferences. The blog also states that if the school division’s petition has been denied one of the justices could be writing an order in disagreement with that decision.

The next conference will be held October 28.