BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—South Carolina Senators Larry Grooms and Paul Campbell—both from Berkeley County—have introduced a bill that addresses the controversial restroom issue involving transgender students attending Berkeley County schools.
The bill comes in response to the Berkeley County School District allowing transgender students to use the restrooms of the gender with which they identify. However, a new bill proposed by the two state lawmakers would prohibit that.
The piece of legislation, known as S.1306, only allows students to use restrooms, locker rooms, and showers that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates.
“No person shall enter a restroom, locker room, or shower that is designated for one sex unless he or she is a member of that sex,” reads the bill.
According to the bill, students who desire greater privacy when using a facility described may submit a request to the principal for access to alternative facilities.
The principal will evaluate these requests on a case-by-case basis and shall, to the extent reasonable, offer options for alternate facilities, which may include, but are not limited to, access to a single-stall restroom, access to a unisex restroom, or controlled use of an employee restroom, locker room, or shower.
In no event shall the accommodation be access to a facility described that is designated for use by members of the opposite sex while students of the opposite sex are present or could be present, the bill continues.
On Wednesday, the bill passed a second reading. A third reading is necessary before it would then head over to House lawmakers. Ultimately, it would have to be signed by Governor Nikki Haley.
Melissa Moore, the Executive Director of ‘We Are Family,’ stated that this bill conflicts with a directive recently handed down by the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice. It asserts that schools should respect the rights of transgender students by affirming their gender identities. Failing to do so is in breach of Title IX and could result in lost federal funding, she warned.
“Introducing legislation like this is a waste of time when lawmakers could and should be advancing policies that help people in our state,” Moore stated in a news release. “We should be doing more to ensure that every student in our state has a safe place to go to school, a learning environment where they can thrive, and a safe home to return to night.”
If the bill passes into law, it would take effect during the 2016-2017 BCSD school year.
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