An Arkansas state House committee has advanced a bill that would require all school students to use the bathrooms that correspond to the biological sex listed on their birth certificates, with the bill’s sponsor insisting that children have a “right to privacy and to feel safe” in school bathrooms.
House Bill 1156 (pdf) would apply to public schools and open enrollment public charter schools. In addition to restrooms, the rule would also apply to other places at the school where individuals might be in “various stages of undress.” This includes changing rooms, shower rooms, and locker rooms.
Principals, superintendents, teachers, and administrative heads of schools who refuse to comply with the law could be subjected to a $1,000 fine and other potential sanctions by the state’s Professional Licensure Standards Board, the bill states….