Ohio has become the latest state to require students to use bathrooms and other private, single-sex spaces that correspond to their sex instead of their self-declared gender identity amid pushback to LGBT ideology that has permeated society.
Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 104 into law last Wednesday. As explained in a statement released by DeWine’s office, the legislation implements “the Protect All Students Act regarding single-sex bathroom access in primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education.”
DeWine’s approval of the measure follows its passage in the Republican-controlled Ohio House of Representatives in a 60-31 vote and its clearance in the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate in a 24-7 vote.
The votes on the legislation were largely along party lines, with most Democrats voting against the bill and all Republicans voting in favor of it. Two House Republicans joined all House Democrats in voting against the legislation.
Senate Bill 104 requires schools to “designate each student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that is accessible by multiple students at the same time, whether located in a school building or located in a facility used by the school for a school-sponsored activity, for the exclusive use by students of the male biological sex only or by students of the female biological sex only.”
The legislation further declares that “no school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that the school has designated for the exclusive use of the male biological sex” and “no school shall permit a member of the male biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that the school has designated for the exclusive use of the female biological sex.”
It adds: “No school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to share overnight accommodations with a member of the male biological sex. No school shall permit a member of the male biological sex to share overnight accommodations with a member of the female biological sex.”
The passage of the legislation comes in response to concerns about trans-identified males using girls’ restrooms and locker rooms at school in addition to sharing overnight accommodations with female students on school field trips.
Ohio is now one of 12 states that prohibit trans-identified youth from using bathrooms and sex-segregated spaces that align with their stated gender identity in K-12 schools.
The others are: Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. Two other states, Florida and Utah, require trans-identified individuals to use sex-segregated spaces that align with their sex in all government-owned facilities, not just K-12 schools.
