Education Committee Advances Bill Restricting Transgender Student Bathroom Access

A bill prohibiting transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity passed out of the Ohio House Higher Education Committee on Wednesday on a 10-5 party line vote.

State Reps. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, sponsored House Bill 183, which would require Ohio K-12 schools and institutions to require students to use the bathroom or locker room that corresponds to their assigned sex at birth. It would also prevent institutions from allowing students to share overnight lodgings with the opposite gender.

HB 183 is now awaiting additional review in the House, which is slated to meet again on April 24.

Bird added that parents, grandparents, and school superintendents had begged him for this law.

The American Medical Association publicly opposes measures that prevent transgender people from accessing essential human services and public facilities based on their gender identity.

HB 183 would not preclude a school from having single-occupancy facilities, nor would it apply to anyone assisting a person with a disability or a kid under the age of ten who is accompanied by a parent, guardian, or family member.

State Representative Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, considered introducing an amendment to the committee that would have excluded schools and institutions from the bill, but she decided against it.

“I’m hopeful we will continue to have these discussions on the removal of higher ed,” she was quoted as saying. “The reason is that we’re dealing with adults. In terms of student population, universities are comparable to cities. Frivolous lawsuits will eventually raise the cost of tuition and our families’ expenses.”

Manning voted in favor of the bill, stating that she hopes lawmakers can continue discussions to “find a better solution.” Bird opposes removing the higher education component from the measure.

“The reason I oppose that is because we have college credit plus in Ohio,” he told me. “We seventh graders going to college, kids in high school going to colleges and in that college environment, we got to make sure they are protected.”

State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, expressed his opposition to the bill before the committee voted.

“Here we are again … taking away school districts and colleges’ ability and their leadership to make decisions that are best for providing safe, equitable access for all Ohio students,” Miller said in a statement. “I hope that this doesn’t see the floor and doesn’t see the governor’s desk.”

More than 100 persons opposed HB 183, while more than 30 people supported it.

“We do love and care about all kids,” Bird stated when asked about the bill’s criticism. “Me and my Republican colleagues have heard from residents all around the state. They may not have been loud. They may not have been vocal. They may not have brought a placard to the Statehouse, but we represent the great majority of Ohioans who want protections.”

Trans supporters speak out against HB 183. Transgender advocates held a press conference following the House Higher Education Committee hearing to express their opposition to HB 183.

Carson Hartlage, a Trans Ohio Board member, stated that HB 183 is hurtful to all students, including cisgender students.

“Most trans non binary and gender non conforming students only begin using restrooms that align with their gender identities after they’ve experienced some form of trauma when using a restroom that aligns with their sex assigned at birth,” said Hartlage.

According to Ohio’s 2021 state snapshot by GLSEN, which examines the school experiences of LGBTQ middle and high school students, 30% of LGBTQ+ students reported being prevented from using the bathroom that corresponded to their gender, and 26% were prevented from using the locker room that corresponded to their gender.

According to the Ohio GLSEN survey, 42% of transgender and nonbinary kids were denied access to the gender-specific bathroom, and 36% were denied access to the gender-specific locker room.

Dion Manley, Ohio’s first openly transgender public figure and a member of the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Board of Education, addressed his concerns.

“As a trans man is I’ve been going into men’s restrooms for 25 years without incident,” Manley went on to say. “I visit schools on a regular basis. So these legislators want me to use the girls’ restrooms in elementary, middle, and high schools.”

Mallory Golski, civic engagement and advocacy manager at Kaleidoscope Youth Center, stated that Ohio recently made history in a positive way with Monday’s eclipse.

“We’re here reflecting on how we’re at the epicenter of another piece of history,” she went on to say. “Unfortunately, we are at the wrong place at the wrong moment. Unlike the brief blackout of a total solar eclipse, the history I’m discussing here today at the statehouse keeps transgender youngsters in the dark.

This bill would have a direct influence on Jeanne Ogden’s daughter. Her daughter’s college classroom building does not have single-use facilities, so she must cross the street to use the restroom.

“These kids are getting bullied, and yes, their mental health is suffering,” said Ogden, executive director of Trans Allies of Ohio. “Trans folks are tired. Parents are fatigued.