In this photo taken April 14, 2017, in New York City, a sign indicates that the bathroom is gender neutral. (Dreamstime/TNS)
A bill that would require students in K-12 and higher education to use facilities that align with their sex assigned at birth received updates, but no vote, at its fourth hearing in the Ohio House Higher Education Committee Jan. 10.
Ohio House Rep. Adam Bird (R-63), the primary sponsor of House Bill 183, said a slight language change in the bill was necessary. Now, it states that higher education institutions “shall not knowingly” permit students to enter restrooms or locker rooms that do not align with their sex assigned at birth, instead of the previous phrasing of “shall not” permit.
“If it says ‘shall not permit,’ there was some concern that an institute of higher [education] could get in trouble if someone went into the wrong restrooms on the first time,” Bird said.
With the addition of “knowingly,” higher education institutions would only be required to speak to an individual or implement “progressive discipline” after becoming aware of a violation, Bird said.
In terms of what that discipline will entail, Bird said it will be up to the university or school district to decide.
“The law is silent on that issue,” Bird said.
The bill does permit the existence of single-use, gender-neutral restrooms, but not multi-use.
Ohio House Rep. Casey Weinstein (D-34), a member of the Higher Education Committee, said the bill needed updating because it was “overly broad.” Now, a section has been added that allows employees, like janitors or coaches, to enter a restroom or locker room of a sex different from their own.
The bill now also allows someone responding to an emergency to enter a space that is not designated for their sex.
Weinstein said the bill would have a “massive chilling effect” on the transgender community if passed.
“They’ve seen wave after wave of legislation targeting them,” Weinstein said. “In this case, I think [there are] significant invasions of privacy.”
Weinstein said that he sees legislation regarding transgender individuals to be a political strategy.
“What this is is part of a campaign season cultural war,” Weinstein said. “Folks want to make people angry and make them scared when there’s not a reason to be. So I think they are targeting our most vulnerable Ohioans and singling them out for political gain.”
Bird said his goal with the bill is to protect students.
“I’m a dad, and I’m a granddad, and I want to protect my daughters and my granddaughters, and I think that there’s a lot of men in Ohio that feel the same way,” Bird said.
House Bill 183 is not “a totally partisan bill,” according to Bird.
“Now, I don’t think it’ll get any Democrat votes,” Bird said. “But I believe that there’s plenty of Democrats in the world who don’t want a boy in their daughter’s restroom, and it makes people mad.”
Weinstein said he does not believe House Bill 183 is what Ohio students want.
“I just can’t emphasize enough [that] this is not coming from Ohio students,” Weinstein said. “It’s coming from some sort of Fox News, ginned-up hatred that has been whipped up into a frenzy for a campaign year.”
Bird said he hopes to get a vote out of the Higher Education Committee in the next couple of weeks, after which the bill will proceed to the House floor.
