Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) on May 25, 2022, signed a bill into law requiring transgender students to use the restroom that matches their sex assigned at birth. Senate Bill 615 passed the House with a vote of 69-14 and the Senate by a vote of 38-7.
The law governs the use of multiple-occupancy restrooms in the state’s public and charter schools. The law also requires schools to make a single-occupancy restroom or changing room available to students who do not feel comfortable using multiple-occupancy facilities. Parents and students under the law are encouraged to report to school officials any students they suspect of using the restroom not corresponding with their sex assigned at birth. Any school district that does not enforce the law could lose up to 5 percent of state funding.
The House author of S.B. 615, Republican state Rep. Danny Williams, said the purpose of the bill was to protect our children, according to KTUL Tulsa. Williams continued, “It’s about safety, it’s about protection, it’s about common sense.”
Democratic state Rep. Jacob Rosencrants, whose son is transgender, argued against the bill. He said, “My child wants to go to the bathroom where he feels comfortable. My kid just wants to ‘be’ … and he doesn’t feel like he can do that in this state.”
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