Ohio Governor Signs Bill Mandating Bathroom Use in Schools Based on Biological Sex

December 25, 2024

Ohio has become the latest state to legally require students in primary and secondary schools as well as institutions of higher education to use bathrooms and other private spaces that correspond with their biological sex.

Christianity Daily reports that Governor Mike DeWine signed Bill 104 into law last month following its passage by the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate.

The law requires that schools must: “designate each student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that is accessible by multiple students at the same time […] for the exclusive use by students of the male biological sex only or by students of the female biological sex only.”

The law also specifies that male and female students may not use “a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room” that has been designated for the opposite sex.

Ohio joins 12 others states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, that require youth to use sex-segregated spaces that correspond to their biological sex in K-12 schools.

Florida and Utah have similar requirements that also extend to all government-owned facilities.

According to Christianity Daily, this type of legislation is in response to concerns over biological boys who say they are girls using restrooms, locker rooms and sharing overnight accomodations with female students during field trips.

Photo: top, Credit: Facebook/Governor Mike DeWine