Naval Academy Will Bar Trans Students Starting in 2020

With Donald Trump's transgender military ban going into effect, the service academies that train military personnel have begun announcing they will not admit trans applicants.

The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., will bar transgender people from enrolling in the 2020-2021 school year and beyond, Defense Department officials told Annapolis's Capital Gazette.

However, those who had enrolled earlier will be able to remain at the school under the Obama administration policy that allowed open service by trans people.

The ban on military service by transgender Americans went into effect Friday, even though lawsuits against it are still making their way through federal courts. Under the policy, trans people will be barred from the armed forces unless they are willing to serve in the gender to which they were assigned at birth.

It is expected to result in the discharge of an estimated 13,700 transgender service members, out of an estimated 15,000 serving.

The Naval Academy is one of five U.S. service academies and the first to announce, and the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., has confirmed that it will cease admitting trans candidates, the Associated Press reports.

U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are expected to follow suit shortly.