Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he intends to join 11 states in suing the Obama administration for telling U.S. public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.

Republican Bryant says in a statement Thursday that his staff has spoken to the Texas attorney general's staff and he intends to join the suit as soon as possible. Bryant says the bathroom guidance is an example of "federal overreach."

The lawsuit announced Wednesday includes Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, Arizona, Louisiana, Utah and Georgia. It asks a Texas federal court to declare the federal guidance unlawful.

The Mississippi Board of Education, following the lead of Bryant and other Republican officials, said this week it would not follow the federal guidance.