Ohio House passes bill that would restrict transgender student access to school bathrooms

The Ohio state Senate has passed a bill that would prevent schools from allowing students of the opposite sex into restrooms and locker rooms. 

The legislation, which requires Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to sign in order to become law, aims to restrict transgender students from using facilities associated with their gender identities.

Senate Bill 104, the Protect All Students Act, was voted 24-7 Wednesday on a party-line vote. The House version of the bill was passed before the chamber went on summer break in June. 

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DeWine has 10 days to sign the bill into law or veto it. The governor has said he’s inclined to sign the bill, but will conduct a legal review first, the Associated Press reports.

The bill applies to public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. It requires schools to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of either males and females, based on one’s gender assigned at or near birth, in both school buildings and facilities used for a school-sponsored event.

The passage of the bill was welcomed by Republicans, including state Sen. Jerry Cirino, who said the bill “is about safety and security,” while the ACLU of Ohio condemned it as a violation of the right of privacy of LGBTQ+ Ohioans that will make them less safe.

“We are incredibly disheartened by the Ohio General Assembly’s continuous attacks against transgender and gender non-conforming individuals across Ohio,” Jocelyn Rosnick, policy director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said in a statement. 

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“Senate Bill 104 is a cruel invasion of students’ rights to privacy, which could result in unwarranted governmental disclosures of private, personal information.”

The group called on DeWine to veto the bill and said it is “closely considering next steps. 

The Center for Christian Virtue, a lobbying organization focused upon implementing conservative Christian sexual morality, commended legislators for passing the bill and called on DeWine to sign it. 

“Today is a huge victory for children and families in Ohio,” CCV Policy Director David Mahan said in a statement, adding that it will guarantee the only people entering young ladies’ private spaces are female, “not men claiming to be female.”

Cirino, who introduced S.B. 104, which revises the state’s college credits program, says the legislation was about common sense.

“It protects our children and grandchildren in private spaces where they are most vulnerable,” Cirino said, per the Ohio Capital Journal. “It is us using our legislative authority to ensure schools are, in fact, safe environments. After all, bathrooms, showers, changing rooms should all be safe places for our students.”

Various battles regarding the issue of transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender as well as participating in female sports are playing out across the nation. President-elect Trump has repeatedly vowed to keep men out of women’s sports.

At least 11 states have adopted laws barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s bathrooms in public schools and, in some cases, other government facilities.

The laws are in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah. A judge’s order putting enforcement on hold is in place in Idaho.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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