Kansas has joined 11 states challenging President Barack Obama's directive allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.

On June 1, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced the state Senate would be voting on a non-binding resolution that he said would protect privacy rights and pushed Kansas lawmakers to sue the U.S. Department of Education.

The proposal comes less than a month after the Obama administration threatened to restrict federal funds if school districts did not comply, and just one week after Republicans officially filed a lawsuit arguing that such decisions should be made on the local level.

"In our federal system of government, not every decision needs to be handed down from Washington, and this is a matter best left to state or local authorities, including school boards, as it traditionally has been -- and as the law required," Schmidt said in a press release.

At issue is the interpretation of Title IX, the 1972 act prohibiting discrimination based on sex, race, color or national origin either by employers or educational institutions.

The Justice and Education departments interpret this to include transgender individuals; those who do not identify with their biological sex. Conservative lawmakers, like former GOP presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, accused the government agencies of trying to rewrite Title IX.

"America has woken up to yet another example of President Barack Obama doing through executive fiat what he cannot get done through our democratic process," Cruz said. "The threats of predators are serious, and we should not facilitate allowing grown men or boys to be in bathrooms with little girls."

The Latina Republican Supporting LGBT Rights

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., was fighting for transgender rights well before North Carolina's transgender bathroom bill sparked a nationwide debate. A lifelong Republican, Ros-Lehtinen strays from her party's unified message. The first Latina elected to Congress generally opposes Obama's measures, but when transgender rights are at stake, Ros-Lehtinen sides with the LGBT community.

"The Republican Party's stance on the issue is lagging behind," Ros-Lehtinen recently told the New York Times. "But folks are figuring out that there is no political harm in embracing these issues and, in fact, they see a lot of good can come out of it."

Ros-Lehtinen's son is transgender. Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen told his parents nearly a decade ago, as a 21-year-old previously known to his family as Amanda. The Cuban-American congresswoman said she supporter her son regardless, as she does with other transgender people who may feel out of place.

Rodrigo inspired his mother to join Democrats in founding the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. Ros-Lehtinen is the caucus's sole conservative.

Hispanic Advocacy Groups Step In

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the latter being the country's largest Latino civil rights groups, each praised the Obama administration's effort.

In a statement, LULAC National President Roger Rocha, Jr. believes the directive is a pivotal step in "ensuring the well-being of transgender students across the country."

"By allowing students to use the facility that corresponds to their gender identity, President Obama has sent a strong message to the public -- discrimination against the transgender community will not be tolerated," Rocha said.

NCLR moved its 2016 Northeast/Southeast Affiliate Leadership Convening from Raleigh to Miami in opposition of House Bill (HB) 2, North Carolina's surreptitious bathroom bill nullifying ordinances that would protect LGBT members.

NCLR CEO Janet Murguía said Latinos, for one, know what it is like to "be singled out and stripped of our humanity," referring to anti-immigration laws aimed at oppressing the Hispanic community.

"HB2 is a solution in search of a nonexistent problem; it is unnecessary, offensive and violates not only our rights, but our values as Americans," Murguía said. "By taking this action, we extend our support to the efforts of so many in North Carolina and the LGBT, civil rights, and business communities to repeal this egregious law."

A Supreme Court Fight Looms

LGBT rights advocates earned a small victory Tuesday when a federal judge declined to revisit "G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board" -- the catalyst Title IX lawsuit filed by a transgender male student.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia sued on behalf of Gloucester High School student Gavin Grimm, who accused the Virginia school board of adopting a discriminatory bathroom policy. On April 19, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of Grimm.

Last month, the school board asked the Fourth Circuit to rehear the case "en banc," meaning they wanted every active judge to participate. None of the court's 15 judges supported the motion.

Judge Paul Niemeyer opposed the panel ruling, calling it a "politically correct acceptance" and urged for Supreme Court intervention.

"While I could call for a poll of the court in an effort to require counsel to reargue their positions before an en banc court, the momentous nature of the issue deserve an open road to the Supreme Court," Niemeyer wrote in his dissenting opinion.

The Fourth Court's decision has a cascading effect on all federal courts within its jurisdiction, including North Carolina's.