North Dakota gov signs bill requiring K-12 students to use bathrooms on the basis of biological sex

Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill into law Monday that requires K-12 students to use bathrooms on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity.

Under House Bill 1522, public school teachers are allowed to ignore “preferred pronouns” that do not match a student’s biological sex. The bill, signed into law by Burgum on Monday, passed the state House in a 68-22 vote and the state Senate approved the legislation in April, 40-6.

“House Bill 1522 largely codifies existing practices while reaffirming the First Amendment right to free speech, requiring restroom accommodations, balancing the rights and interests of students, parents and teachers, and not including the concerning language from the previously vetoed and sustained SB [Senate Bill] 2231,” Burgum told InForum.

If given parental permission, schools can set up a separate restroom to accommodate a transgender student, the law stated. Teachers are also prohibited from keeping students’ gender transitions a secret from their parents.

“It’s shameful, yet not surprising, that instead of spending their day attempting to tackle the real issues facing North Dakotans, extremist legislators in Bismarck were working vigorously to rile up the far fringes of their base – and now some of their most marginalized constituents could pay the price,” Cathryn Oakley, the Human Rights Campaign’s state legislative director, said in a news release ahead of the signing of the bill.

Throughout the country, lawmakers are pushing legislation that prohibits the use of school bathrooms on the basis of gender identity; in April, the Kansas Legislature overrode a the governor’s veto of a law that prevents men from entering women’s restrooms in public schools. On May 3, the Florida Legislature approved a bill that would mandate that bathrooms within K-12 schools, government buildings, prisons and detention centers be used on the basis of biological sex.

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