Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill Wednesday that would ban transgender students from using school restrooms that match their gender identity. The Republican-dominated state Senate advanced SB 104Also known as the “Protecting All Students Act” on a 24-7 party vote.
“No school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room designated by the school exclusively for the use of the male biological sex,” and vice versa, the bill reads.
In the bill, “biological sex” is defined as “the biological indication of male and female, including sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and ambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, regardless of an individual’s psychological, chosen, or subjective experience.” defined as of sex.” The bill adds that a birth certificate can be used as biological sex evidence “if it was issued at or near the time of the person’s birth.”
SB 104 applies to Ohio public K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities. Other states have passed laws seeking to regulate which restrooms trans people can use. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah.
The bill also requires Ohio schools not to have restrooms or locker rooms open to all genders, except for family facilities or single rooms. Exceptions to the bill include children under 10 who are assisted by family members, school employees whose job duties require them to access all restrooms, or persons with disabilities who are assisted.
DeWine, a Republican, conducted legal research before signing the bill, according to the Associated Press.
The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement after SB 104 passed in the state Senate, calling it “anti-trans” and urging DeWine not to sign it.
“If allowed to take effect, SB 104 will create unsafe environments for trans and gender non-affirming individuals of all ages. This bill ignores the material reality that transgender people are at increased risk of sexual assault and assault, particularly when using public restrooms,” said Jocelyn Rosnick, policy director for the ACLU of Ohio. said in the statement.
Senate Democratic Leader Nicky J. Antonio urged DeWine to veto the bill. Letter published on November 15.
“Sponsors of the legislation state that the bill is about security. But this bill does not ensure anyone’s safety. Instead, it will make trans people less safe and fail to increase the safety of all students,” Antonio wrote. “There’s a line between being passionate and understanding and being concerned about safety. “Given that trans children already face discrimination and violence in schools, this bill could exacerbate the problem.”
The Center for Christian Virtue, which describes itself as Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, had urged DeWine to sign the bill, hailing it as a privacy protection.
“Today is a huge victory for children and families in Ohio. SB104, as amended, is a common-sense law that will ensure that the only people intruding on young ladies’ private spaces are women, not men pretending to be women,” the organization’s policy director, David Mahan, said in a statement after the Senate passed the bill.
Mahan did not specify whether a man claiming to be a woman had entered a women’s restroom in Ohio and did not respond to requests for comment.
there is no evidence allowing transgender people to use public facilities such as restrooms that match their gender identity increases assaults or violations of privacy. 2018 education Published in Sexuality Research and Social Policy. Another study, published in the journal Pediatrics in 2019, of transgender youth higher risk sexual harassment when they are not allowed to use the restrooms that match their gender identity.
Ohio House Republicans have added restrooms legislation to proposals related to report card data for Ohio’s college loan program for high school students.
Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, executive director of GLSEN, which advocates for LGBTQ students, condemned the law in a statement after DeWine’s signing.
“Extremist politicians are panicking because there are transgender students,” Willingham-Jaggers said. “Bathroom bans don’t work: they isolate transgender youth, fuel harassment and unsafe conditions, and encourage schools to engage in harmful and stigmatizing gender policing at the bathroom door. .”