KY LEGISLATURE

Transgender bathroom bill passes Ky Senate

Mike Wynn

@MikeWynn_CJ

FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a move sparking debate over privacy and civil rights, the Kentucky Senate passed legislation Friday to usurp a policy at Atherton High School in Louisville and govern where transgender students can use the restroom in public schools.

The Republican-backed measure would forbid transgender students from using school bathrooms designated for the opposite biological sex. It counters a recent decision at Atherton that allowed a student who was born male — but identifies as female — to use the girls' bathroom and locker rooms.

Republican Sen. C.B. Embry, the bill's sponsor, calls it a "common sense" approach to guide school administrators and safeguard privacy in areas where students are in a state of undress. Supporters argue the rule also would help protect transgender students from bullying and harassment by providing separate accommodations.

But opponents charged Friday that lawmakers are yielding to fear and discrimination. They said the bill will strip flexibility from school districts and violate federal guidelines on civil rights for transgender students.

"We need to acknowledge that this is the civil rights issue of our current time, and today this Senate has failed the people of Kentucky," said Sen. Reginald Thomas, a Democrat who warned that the legislation would "cast a shroud of darkness" over the Senate.

Transgender students could request special accommodations, including use of a faculty, single-stall or unisex bathroom. But they could not use bathrooms, locker rooms or shower facilities that do not correspond to their sex at birth.

The measure — backed by the conservative Family Foundation of Kentucky — passed the GOP-led Senate 27-9. It now heads to the Democrat-controlled House, where it faces opposition.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo indicated Friday that House lawmakers have little interest in taking the bill up this year. He criticized the Senate for spending two days "deciding where kids can go to the bathroom. That's a heck of a weighty issue for the state of Kentucky."

The legislation, which underwent two votes in Senate committee, has spurred emotional debate as one private-school student testified that others felt free to bully him since school administrators didn't support his gender identity. Another testified that Atherton's policy lets the rights of one student overshadow the rights of many.

Senate Republicans insisted Friday that the bill is motivated by safety concerns and that lawmakers have a responsibility to consider the rights of all students, not just those who identify as transgender.

When questioned on the Senate floor, Embry said the bill has nothing to do with homosexuality and that he doesn't know if gender identity is a result of choice or nature. He said both could play a role.

Senate Education Chairman Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, pointed to statistics showing that one in four college women report falling victim to sexual assault over their lifetime. "We live in a day of political correctness, I believe, that is pressuring us to change the way that we do things," he said.

Those arguments were met with pleas from Democrats who said school officials have not stepped forward to support the bill and that district decisions to accommodate transgender students have not caused any incidents of bullying.

Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, argued that officials at Atherton underwent serious efforts to engage students and parents and debate the matter with attorneys and experts before implementing a policy they thought best for the school. That approach is working there, he said, urging lawmakers to vote down the bill.

"We are in uncharted water, and we are drafting a policy with this bill that doesn't give flexibility to any school or any student," he said. "We have to protect the rights of everyone, but I think we are also judged — not just in the body, but in life — on how we treat those on the margins."

Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeWynn_CJ.