A
California
state lawmaker has introduced
legislation
that would make the Golden State the first in the nation to require
schools
to have at least one
gender-neutral bathroom
on campus.
State Sen. Josh Newman (D) introduced SB 760 last week, which would require all K-12 public and charter schools to have at least one genderless bathroom for student use amid ever-increasing controversy over the place of public schools when a student claims to identify with a gender different from their biological sex.
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“Schools should provide a safe and inclusive environment for all students, one where they’re able to focus on learning and where they’re encouraged to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally,” Newman said in a press release. “By requiring all California K-12 schools to provide gender-inclusive restroom facilities on campus, we’ll ensure the well-being of our LGBTQ+ and non-binary students and ensure safer school communities for everyone.”
Disputes over bathroom facilities were among the first battlegrounds of the transgender culture wars. But the issue has largely faded into obscurity as Republican-controlled states have pushed to ban cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and sex-change surgeries for minors. The issue has also spilled over into athletics, as a number of states have passed bills requiring student-athletes to compete based on their biological sex.
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Newman’s bill was also co-sponsored by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), who said, “Every child and adolescent should have access to a bathroom that comports with their gender identity, and for some young people, that means bathrooms that don’t force them into a binary choice.”
Wiener has introduced numerous bills related to gay and transgender issues in his time in the state legislature. In 2022, Wiener
sponsored legislation
that makes California a “refuge” for families with children identifying as transgender after a handful of Republican-controlled states took steps to empower Child Protective Services to remove children from homes that approved of their child’s use of cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and other procedures.
