The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved a bill requiring students to use school facilities that align with their biological sex, restricting transgender students’ access to school restrooms that align with their gender identity.
If approved by the governor, Senate Bill (SB) 104 would require public primary schools, secondary schools, and institutions of higher education to designate all multi-occupancy student restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, or shower rooms “for the exclusive use by students of the male biological sex only or by students of the female biological sex only.” SB 104 would further prohibit schools from knowingly permitting members of one biological sex to enter facilities designated for the exclusive use of the other biological sex. The legislation defines “biological sex” as the “biological indication of male and female” regardless of the student’s “psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender.” Schools would also be unable to label any multi-occupancy facilities as “nongendered, misgendered, or open to all genders.”
SB 104 was originally introduced to amend the state’s College Credit Plus Program. The House of Representatives later added the restroom policy, known as the Protect All Students Act. The state senate passed SB 104 by a 24-7 vote, sending the bill to Ohio Governor Mike DeWine for approval. DeWine previously expressed his support for SB 104, saying he “would sign the bill” as it stood in June.
Ohio State Senator Niraj Antani, who voted in favor of SB 104, said the bill will protect children. He explained, “Biological males should not use the same restroom in our schools as girls.” ACLU of Ohio Policy Director Jocelyn Rosnick, however, called the bill “a cruel invasion of students’ rights to privacy.” Rosnick stated:
SB 104 will create unsafe environments for trans and gender non-conforming individuals of all ages. The bill ignores the material reality that transgender people endure higher rates of sexual violence and assaults, particularly while using public restrooms, than people who are not transgender. All Ohioans deserve to access the facilities they need, in alignment with their gender identity, without fear of harassment or bullying.
Critics of SB 104 claim the bill is one of multiple pieces of legislation in Ohio that targets LGBTQ+ minors. The ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit in March challenging an Ohio bill that bans gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors and restricts transgender participation in sports. After a court rejected their argument, the ACLU of Ohio appealed the ruling and now awaits a decision from the Tenth District Court of Appeals for Ohio.
States around the country have introduced similar legislation on restroom policies. In Texas, the Odessa City Council approved a policy last month that bans transgender individuals from accessing restrooms that do not align with their sex assigned at birth. In January, the US Supreme Court declined to review a ruling prohibiting an Indiana school district from enforcing a similar restroom policy. In that case, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found that the policy violated students’ rights under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution.
