WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and Equality NC have sent letters to chancellors and presidents of the University of North Carolina and North Carolina Community College systems urging them to reverse implementation of the deeply discriminatory HB2. The letter from the two civil rights organizations come after the Department of Justice notified Margaret Spellings, President of the University of North Carolina University System, Thomas Shanahan, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and the UNC Board of Governors that by complying with HB2, the University of North Carolina is in direct violation of federal law.

If the state does not comply with federal civil rights law, it could lose $4.5 billion in federal education funding alone, which works out to nearly $500 per North Carolina taxpayer or a decrease of $2,500 in education funding per public school student, including those attending North Carolina’s public universities.

“Tens of thousands of students, faculty, and college employees across North Carolina have been harmed by HB2,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “The Department of Justice has now affirmed HB2 violates the civil rights of those in the UNC community, and we therefore urge all public universities and colleges to reverse its implementation.  This is not only the right thing to do, it is the law.”

Just yesterday, North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said state leaders will defy federal civil rights laws and the Department of Justice, which gave Gov. McCrory and state officials until Monday to address the situation “by confirming that the State will not comply with or implement HB2.” University of North Carolina President Margaret Spellings, who also received a letter from the DOJ, must now decide whether to stand with the flailing governor and chaos he has created, or comply with federal law in the best interests of students.

The joint letter outlines how Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, how Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex stereotyping, and how non-compliance could cost North Carolina colleges and universities billions in federal funding.

Read the full letter here.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. HRC envisions a world where LGBT people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Equality NC is a statewide organization working to secure equal rights and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender North Carolinians. For more information, please visit www.equalitync.org

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