COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Wednesday that he has signed into law a bill to require transgender students at most K-12 schools and colleges in the state to only use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their biological sex at birth.
Under the so-called “bathroom bill,” which takes effect in late February 2025, all K-12 public and charter schools in Ohio, as well as all public and private colleges and universities in the state, will be required to label all of their multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms and changing rooms as being only for either males or females.
The legislation, Senate Bill 104, provides some exceptions to the single-sex entry restrictions, including children younger than 10 who are accompanying a parent, guardian or family member (or in cases in which one of those adults enters with the child to assist them), people with disabilities who accompany a helper (or vice-versa), janitorial staff or in cases of emergency.
The text of the legislation doesn’t include any penalties for violating the new rules, nor any enforcement provisions.
DeWine’s office announced the bill signing without comment. The governor, a Republican, told reporters in June that he would sign such legislation, saying that he is “for children being able to go to a bathroom that has that gender assignment.”
Republican lawmakers said the restrictions, which passed the GOP-dominated legislature without any Democratic votes, are needed to protect students in several ways.
Those include preventing them from being exposed to the opposite sex in a private place, shielding them from predators and keeping them from being “forced to consider issues that are too complex for many adults,” in the words of state Rep. Beth Lear, a Delaware County Republican and one of the main backers of the measure.
Lear and state Rep. Adam Bird, a Clermont County Republican who also introduced the “bathroom bill” restrictions, expressed gratitude to DeWine in a release on Wednesday for signing the legislation into law.
“We are thankful that individuals will not have to worry about members of the opposite sex coming into restrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms in Ohio,” Bird said in a statement. “Thank you, Governor DeWine, for signing this important legislation and keeping students safe.”
“Bathroom bill” opponents, including Democratic lawmakers, say the restrictions discriminate against transgender Ohioans and are a form of government intrusion into the lives of not just children, but adults on college campuses.
Both supporters and critics of the “bathroom bill” predict that opponents will challenge the new rules in court. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, one of the potential litigants, posted on X Wednesday morning that it is “closely considering next steps.”
The bathroom restrictions, formally called the “Protect All Students Act” in the legislation, were originally introduced in separate legislation last year. After numerous hearings, the bill language was folded into SB104, which until then only included non-controversial changes to how high school students can enroll in courses for college credit.
SB104 is the first bill dealing with controversial social issues to come out of this year’s “lame-duck” session, held during the final weeks of the current two-year legislative session.
However, last year the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 68, which prohibits minors from receiving gender-affirming medical treatment and bans transgender athletes from playing women’s high-school and college sports.
DeWine vetoed HB68 after hearing concerns from medical professionals and parents about the healthcare-related part of the legislation. But the legislature’s Republican supermajority overrode the governor’s veto, and the law took effect last April.
Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.