Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the bill into law on Tuesday, March 21. It applies to bathrooms and multi-person locker rooms in public schools and for kindergarten through 12th grade, she told ABC.
School officials who violate the ban could face fines of up to $1,000, with the possibility of being sued by the parents of other pupils.
Arkansas could also pass a similar but tougher bill that would criminalize transgender people using public restrooms based on their gender identity.
The schools bill, which received final approval last week, will go into effect this summer.
Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was Donald Trump’s second White House press secretary. The Arkansas governor has largely followed a Trumpist agenda, targeting transgender rights, racial justice in education and other progressive values.
Republicans in the United States have increasingly embraced transphobic rhetoric and policies. Earlier this month, for example, several speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland called for a ban on gender-based counseling for youth.
Arkansas is the fourth state to pass legislation preventing transgender people from using the restroom of their choice in public schools. The others are Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee.
North Carolina canceled its “bathroom bill” in 2017, following protests and trade boycotts. But more than two dozen laws restricting bathroom use in some form have been introduced in 17 states, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
Trans rights advocates denounce such legislation as targeted and transphobic.
“They’re targeting transgender people for no other reason than hatred and disapproval and misunderstanding of who transgender youth are,” Paul Castillo, senior legal counsel and student rights officer for Lambda Legal, told the Associated Press.
“And the whole school population suffers from these kinds of measures, especially schools, teachers and administrators who are dealing with real problems and need to focus on creating a welcoming environment for every student.”
Conservative states have introduced more than 100 laws against LGBTQ+ rights so far this year, NBC News reported. The goals of anti-trans rights laws include gender-affirming participation in sports, access to health care, and education.
(The Guardian)
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