- A bathroom bill is proposed targeting Transgender Students in Iowa by lawmakers regarding washroom usage by transgender.
- The bill states that transgender students should not be allowed to use restrooms that do not allow their gender identity.
- It states that they should be given access to washrooms and locker rooms of sex as per their birth.
- A law appealing schools to implement this has been in the legislation and even the staff members are going to be part of the bill.
The lawmakers have passed anti-LGBTQ bills in several Republican states, one such bill passed by Iowa lawmakers on Thursday says that Transgender students shall not be allowed to use restrooms or locker rooms that align with gender identity.
This bill is now to be signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds to form law, the bill is controversial and states that students will not be allowed to use restrooms that do not mention the sex on their birth certificates.
This law has brought 5 republicans to join 34 democrats in opposition thus making house votes 57-39 to pass the bill on Thursday. This proposal has been addressed to protect the privacy and safety of students who may feel uncomfortable sharing a facility with their transgender peers.
“This legislation is fair to everyone because it bases the use of bathrooms on what it has, up until recently, always been based upon: biology,” said Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. “That applies to everyone equally.”
The bill can cause trangender kids to feel singled out and that their identity can put their safety at risk as per Minority leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Des Moines. The democrats also argue that there have been no issues in the school about students using restrooms aligned to their genders.
“Forcing transgender students into restrooms that don’t match their gender identity puts their safety at risk,” said Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Des Moines. “They need to be able to use the restroom that matches the gender they live in every day in school, without being singled out.”
One more such bill had also been introduced recently banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors and prohibition of gender identity or sexual orientation in elementary school. Republican lawmakers have focused on many such issues related to LGBTQ and many such proposals have recently failed in Iowa Capitol.
In 2023 almost 410 bills have been introduced which are against the LGBTQ community and almost 180 of those bills target transgender rights as per Human Rights Campaign. This bill addressing restroom concerns toward the community is introduced in red states which straightaway target LGBTQ people.
This bill has already been passed in Tennessee, Alabama, and Oklahoma and there are suits that are in process regarding discrimination in Tennessee and Oklahoma. These bills are addressed to transgender students prohibiting them from using the restrooms.
Details of the Bathroom Bill
The bill directly says that people at Iowa’s public and private schools shall as per Senate File 482 be prohibited from entering bathrooms and changing or locker rooms that do not align with their genders as per birth certificate.
Further, a transgender girl would not be allowed in the girls’ restroom and a transgender boy will be barred from the boy’s locker room. Even the teachers, visitors, and staff shall be barred from the locker room and restrooms which do not align with their sex.
Students can get better privacy with the help of special accommodations from their schools with the consent of their parents as per the bill. They would also be able to access single-occupancy restrooms or “controlled use” facilities.
The bill adds that despite of this schools will not be allowed to give access to multiple occupancy restrooms to transgender students that do not align with their sex at the time of birth.
A protest was carried out by students against the bill which discriminates against the LGBTQ community introduced in Iowa Legislature. They walked out of Des Moines Public School Central Academy on Wednesday.
Will Iowa take forward the bill:
Analyzing the situation, it has been noted by an advocacy group for LGBTQ students that there have been no incidences of transgender students behaving inappropriately stated Iowa Safe Schools. They have traced it back to 2007 when gender identity was added to the Civil Rights Act.
This law according to Republican leaders is a preventive measure and not because of some response to a specific incidence. Six district schools and several parents had expressed concerns about the issue.
What are the implications of the law on schools?
The bill will depend on the students in compliance with the rules along with citizens’ complaints. A person can file a complaint to the school if they believe the school is allowing people to use facilities that aren’t as per their sex as per birth. They can address the violation within 3 days.
There is also a clause for the citizens that states that if the school doesn’t act they can address their complaint to the attorney general who would investigate and take legal action if found necessary.
In the argument, democrats raised concern about how the school administration unaware of the sex will be expected to enforce the law.
Another such law which was passed in 2016 in North Carolina related to the nation’s bathroom bill was also targeted at transgender people in government buildings and was criticized and boycotted.
Several other laws prevented unisex washroom access and other discriminatory laws were also targeted at transgender which were eventually ruled out.
