My goal with Closer Looks was to dive into one bill that got a lot of clicks on BillTrack50 last week. This week we’ll take a closer look at an Oklahoma SB1323; a “bathroom bill” from 2016 that resurfaced this week. It’s an old bill but seems to have regained the spotlight again recently.
Remember back in 2016 when it seemed like every week there was a different “bathroom bill” being introduced, thrusting this issue into the national spotlight? It started with the passage of North Carolina’s HB2 – prohibiting transgender individuals from using public restrooms based on their own gender identity. The law then established a statewide nondiscrimination ordinance, explicitly superseding any local nondiscrimination measure that would contradict the bill. States like Indiana, Kansas, and Minnesota also proposed similar legislation. To read a post Sarah wrote about this issue back in 2016, go here.
Oklahoma was amongst the states with legislation that gained national opposition in 2016.
HB3049 and SB1014 required student restrooms, locker rooms and showers (designated for one biological sex) only be used by members of that biological sex. SB1619 required school districts to provide separate restrooms for students who object to sharing restrooms with transgender students. Under the bill, a student or the legal guardian of a student would be able to request a religious accommodation based on the student’s sincerely held religious beliefs.
Under SB1323, the bill which started trending again this week, if a parent or guardian complained about a school policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facility they most identify with, the school district would have had thirty days to either reverse the policy or force transgender students to use single-occupancy facilities (SB1619 explicitly forbade this). If the school district had failed to respond to a single complaint in thirty days, the school districts’ State Aid allocation would be withheld. The bill didn’t pass; it didn’t even get a vote.
Here is a map of all the “biological sex” legislation related to restrooms and places of public accommodation.