A bill introduced by State Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) would ban transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms aligning with their gender identity in K-12 schools and colleges.
House Bill 183 would require students to use facilities corresponding to their sex assigned at birth and prohibit overnight accommodations with individuals of the opposite sex.
“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.
“No school shall permit a member of the male 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 female biological sex.”
The bill allows for single-occupancy facilities and makes exceptions for individuals with disabilities and children under the age of 10. Similar laws exist in other states, such as Kentucky, Tennessee and Iowa, while Kansas and Florida have enacted broader bathroom bans beyond educational institutions.
Lear discussed the bill at length with the Mount Vernon News in recent weeks.
“The push from the Biden administration and the demands from the federal level are causing a lot of the boards and the superintendents and administrations to capitulate and allow boys and girls to share these facilities,” Lear told the Mount Vernon News. “The majority of the legislators feel that that’s unsafe. So do the majority of the school board members and superintendents with whom I’ve spoken.”
“House Bill 183 would require that whenever there is a facility that’s accessible to multiple students, that it be for one sex only. And it also would protect them because if you open it up to both, then you’re also opening it up to adults during public events. So you could have adult males going into a bathroom that was intended for elementary girls. It’s just unsafe for all of them.”
Over 20 Ohio House Republicans have signed onto the legislation as co-sponsors.
The sponsors argue that the bill prioritizes safety and protection rather than being anti-trans, expressing concerns about privacy and the preservation of single-sex spaces.
This bill follows previous Ohio legislation regarding how trans individuals fit into gender-specific roles in public, including bills related to sports participation and sex change transitions for minors.
The fate of these bills may be influenced by the political landscape, including the Democratic control of the White House and Senate.
Lear is in her first session representing the 61st House District, which includes portions of eastern Delaware County and western Knox County, Beth Lear is currently serving her first session in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Before her role as a legislator, Lear gained experience as a legislative aide within the Ohio House and held positions such as education policy analyst and legislative liaison for the Buckeye Institute.
She also served as the vice president of government affairs for Associated Builders and Contractors of Ohio. Lear was sworn into office for her first term in the Ohio House of Representatives at the beginning of the session.
