Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine has signed a ban on student bathrooms.
The law requires students in the state’s K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities, to use restrooms or facilities that correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth.
The law states that it does not prevent schools from building single-occupancy facilities and does not prohibit the entry of the opposite sex to assist another person.
Ohio joins at least 14 other states in banning transgender people from using bathrooms that match their gender identity, To the Human Rights Campaign.
Supporters say the ban eases concerns about student privacy and protection. Critics of the bill say it raises unwarranted fears about transgender students and may instead put trans students at risk of discrimination or violence.
DeWine’s office previously declined ABC News’ request for comment before signing the bill. He told reporters last summer that he needs to look at “specific language” in the legislation.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine participates in a sound check at the Fiserv Forum before the 2024 Republican National Convention, July 14, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
“I’m all for people, kids, being able to go to the bathroom with a gender assignment, to have that protection, but I’m going to have to look at the specific language,” DeWine. he told reporters.
Transgender health care, bathroom access, sports participation and more have been a key focus for Republican lawmakers nationwide in recent years — a wave that has led to hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills in the 2024 legislative session alone, as it continues. Courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union.
DeWine has run afoul of Republican state lawmakers on transgender issues in the past. He vetoed a bill to ban transgender youth care In December 2023, gender-affirming puberty blockers, which would limit hormone therapy or surgery.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
