By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 27, 2024 / 15:15 pm
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Catholic, signed legislation on Wednesday that prevents males from entering women’s and girls’ locker rooms, showers, and bathrooms in the state’s public and private K-12 schools and colleges.
The new law requires that schools and colleges separate gender-specific facilities on the basis of biological sex, rather than self-asserted gender identity. This prevents men and boys from using facilities that are designated for only women and girls and vice versa, even if the person identifies as transgender.
“This landmark legislation reflects the will of Ohio voters who demanded bold, common-sense action to protect privacy and safety in school restrooms and other shared spaces,” read a statement issued by the Ohio Republican Party and posted on X.
“This is more than just a law — it’s a fulfillment of Ohio’s mandate to prioritize the dignity and safety of young women,” the statement added.
Under the new law, schools cannot establish facilities that are “nongendered” or “open to all genders,” but schools can create “family facilities.”
The legislation includes exceptions for young children who need assistance from a parent or guardian. It also includes an exception for people with disabilities who need assistance.
Per the legislation, schools also cannot permit boys and girls to share overnight accommodations, regardless of whether one of them self-identifies as transgender.
The language was included in a bill that amends a college credit program.
Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Sara Beth Nolan praised DeWine for signing the legislation.
“States have a duty to protect the privacy, safety, and dignity of women and young girls,” Nolan said.
“Yet certain advocacy organizations — and the Biden-Harris administration through its Title IX rule change — are demanding that states devalue women by eliminating longstanding, distinct private spaces for males and females,” Nolan continued. “Allowing males into women and girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms is an invasion of privacy and can even be a threat to their safety.”
The Biden-Harris Department of Education revised Title IX regulations in April to reinterpret the law’s prohibition on “sex” discrimination to include a prohibition on discriminating against a person based on his or her self-asserted gender identity.
The rule change was blocked by courts in more than half of the country after state attorneys general sued the department out of concern that it would overrule state laws restricting athletic competitions, locker rooms, and bathrooms on the basis of biological sex.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio criticized DeWine for signing the bill into law.
“We will always have the backs of our trans community,” the ACLU statement on X said. “Every Ohioan deserves the freedom to be loved, to be safe, to be trusted with decisions about healthcare and to access the facilities that align with their gender identity,” the statement continued.
In January, DeWine vetoed legislation to prohibit doctors from providing minors with transgender drugs and surgeries, but Republican lawmakers voted to override his veto and the law went into effect earlier this year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio filed an unsuccessful lawsuit to prevent the law from going into effect, but has appealed the loss.
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