Transgender bathroom bill restricting use in schools, colleges proposed at Ohio Statehouse

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohio lawmakers are proposing a bill banning transgender students from using a restroom aligned with their gender identity at schools and universities. 

House Bill 183 would prohibit schools from allowing trans students to use a bathroom that doesn’t correspond with the gender assigned to them at birth. The bill states institutions are required to set separate facilities based on a student's "biological sex," meaning "the sex listed on a person's official birth record."

"No school shall permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the male biological sex," the bill states. 

Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) and Rep. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) introduced the bill at the Statehouse on Tuesday with 19 Republican co-sponsors. 

HB 183 also prohibits schools from letting students share overnight accommodations with students of the opposite "biological sex." Institutions would still be allowed to offer singly-use facilities and the bill would not apply to children under 10 being assisted by a family member, or to someone helping a student with a disability.

The legislation marks the first statewide proposal in Ohio aiming to restrict bathroom use by trans students. However, the debate has been elevated to a federal court in Ohio after Dayton-area parents and students sued a school district for allowing trans students to use communal restrooms consistent with their gender identity. 

The November filing argues that restrooms should only be shared by persons of the same biological sex "for a variety of reasons, including safety, privacy, modesty, religion and historical views of sex." A study from the UCLA School of Law found no evidence that allowing trans people to use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks.

HB 183 is part of a record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed nationwide in 2023. The Buckeye State is one of nearly two dozen introducing hundreds anti-LGBTQ+ bills in statehouses across the nation. 

House Bill 6 -- the "Save Women’s Sports Act" -- passed out of the Higher Education Committee on Wednesday and now heads to a floor vote in the Ohio House of Representatives. The bill would bar trans girls from taking part in female athletics and override the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s trans student athlete policy adopted during the 2015-16 school year.

House Bill 68 -- the "Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act" -- received a third hearing at the Statehouse on Wednesday. The bill would bar healthcare professionals from providing treatment known as gender-affirming care to trans children in the state. Violating physicians would be disciplined by the state medical board and could face legal action from the state’s attorney general.