Transgender students from kindergarten through college at public and private schools in Ohio will be banned from using multi-occupancy restrooms that match their gender identity, under a measure Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed Wednesday.
DeWine signed the bill over the objections of Democrats, teachers unions and civil rights groups, who had hoped his objections to a ban on gender-affirming care for minors last year would carry through and lead to another veto. It will take effect within 90 days.
The governor has not issued a statement about the signing.
The Republican-backed measure — dubbed the “Protect All Students Act” — would require public and private schools, colleges and universities to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and lodging facilities “for the exclusive use” of both men and women, based on a person’s gender. assigned at or around birth, in school buildings and other facilities used for school-sponsored events. It contains no enforcement mechanism.
“It’s about safety and, I think, common sense. It protects our children and grandchildren in private spaces where they are most vulnerable,” said Republican Senator Jerry Cirino, the Ohio secretary of state, who introduced the bill.
Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, which supported the bill, said in a statement: “Common sense is winning in America right now. No student should be forced to go to the restroom or locker room with a college-aged student. the opposite sex, and Ohio’s children are now better protected because of Governor DeWine’s decision to sign this bill.
The ACLU of Ohio was among the groups that lobbied for a veto, condemning the measure as a violation of LGBTQ+ Ohioans’ right to privacy that would make them less safe.
School staff, emergency responders and people assisting young children or someone with a disability are exempt from the restrictions and schools can still provide single-use or family bathrooms.
With DeWine’s signature, Ohio is adding to the backlash that has emerged nationwide among many Republican politicians, including newly elected President Donald Trump, as transgender people have gained greater visibility and acceptance on some fronts in recent years.
Twenty-six states have now passed laws restarting or banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on December 4 on whether Tennessee’s ban on such treatments can be upheld; any ruling will likely impact policies in other states as well.
At least 11 states have passed laws, like Ohio’s, banning transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s restrooms in public schools — and in some cases, other government facilities.
And at least 24 states have laws dictating which sports competitions transgender girls and women can participate in.
The bill was debated for 19 months in Ohio before it was finally passed by the Republican Party-led legislature on November 13, during Transgender Awareness Week. It was included by the Ohio House in a separate piece of legislation addressing the state’s College Credit Plus program, which allows high school students to earn college credit.
Trump’s campaign leaned heavily on opposition to transgender rights in the final weeks of his race against Vice President Kamala Harris, including Trump’s promise at a rally at Madison Square Garden that “we will keep men out of women’s sports” and campaign ads that it was said: “Kamala is for them /them. President Trump is for you.”
It is not clear what policies Trump will implement once he comes to power in January. But bills related to gender issues are already pending in state legislatures, which will come into session in early 2025.
In Texas, for example, measures are proposed to ban the use of state money to pay for “gender reassignment,” the use of state money to pay to reverse gender transitions, and the banning of people who receive gender-affirming care before they turn 15 until they turn 25. to sue their doctors for, among other things, malpractice. Democrats in the Republican-dominated legislature there have also introduced some bills aimed at protecting people from discrimination based on “gender identity or expression.”
In Ohio, a law went into effect in August that bans gender-affirming care for minors and prevents transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports competitions. However, it was along a rocky path. The measure only became law after lawmakers overrode DeWine’s veto. And then a judge stayed enforcement for about four months before granting it.
