ROCK HILL, S.C. — The controversial school bathroom law in South Carolina, now in effect, mandates that students use bathrooms according to their biological sex. This law, inserted into the state budget, impacts districts statewide.
A few months ago, lawmakers were drafting this legislation at the South Carolina State House. Simultaneously, a Rock Hill School Board member developed a district bathroom policy with identical wording.
As of July 1, the budget proviso became state law, compelling other districts to follow Rock Hill’s lead to secure essential state funding.
The Rock Hill School Board approved its bathroom policy on Thursday with a 4-2 vote. Initially, the board sought legal guidance on whether they could implement such a policy, given that federal regulations enacted by the Biden administration prohibit it.
With the proviso now in effect, board chair Helena Miller stated that the board proceeded to comply with state law. Districts that do not comply risk losing state funding.
Miller mentioned that the district policy is temporary, like the state law. Being a budget proviso, it only lasts for the current fiscal year.
“We don’t know what the legislature is going to do over the coming year,” Miller said. “There may be a bill proposed to make this permanent law; we’ve seen that with other things.”
Several red states have similar bathroom laws, which face strong opposition from LGBTQIA+ advocates.
“I think it’s so unfortunate that we’re focused on stuff like this when really what trans youth in our schools need is mental health support, they need access to the community, they need resources,” said Ivy Hill, director of gender justice with the Campaign for Southern Equality.
Hill wants transgender students to know they are not alone.
“These bills send a really terrible message to you, trying to tell you that you’re less than human, that you don’t deserve the same access to public space as anybody else, and that is absolutely not true,” Hill said.
When WCNC Charlotte’s Julia Kauffman asked Miller why it was important to pass the bathroom policy, she responded:
“Most of the discussion and the concerns that we’ve heard are coming from a standpoint of privacy concerns and safety and security.”
Several state attorneys general, including South Carolina’s Alan Wilson, are contesting the federal regulations banning these bathroom policies in court.
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“If there are legal challenges on the proviso, that is for the state legislature to deal with, quite frankly. We have to ensure we still get our funding,” Miller said.
Miller anticipates the South Carolina School Boards Association will soon distribute a model policy for all school boards to adopt regarding bathroom use.
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