New Arkansas school bathroom law

OAN Roy Francis
UPDATED 9:19 AM – Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Arkansas has joined three other states in banning students at public schools from using the bathroom or locker room of their choice.

Governor Sarah Huckabee (R-Ark.) signed a bill that applies to multi-person restrooms and locker rooms in public and charter schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. The new law prohibits transgender people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity at public schools, but it also requires schools to provide reasonable accommodations, including private single person restrooms, for transgender students.

“The Governor has said she will sign laws that focus on protecting and educating our kids, not indoctrinating them and believes our schools are no place for the radical left’s woke agenda,” Alexa Henning, Sanders’ spokesperson, told The Associated Press. “Arkansas isn’t going to rewrite the rules of biology just to please a handful of far-left advocates.”

Those who violate the new law, including superintendents, school administrators, and teachers, can be fined a minimum of $1,000. Parents can also file lawsuits if the law is not enforced at their children’s schools. Representative Mary Bentley (R-Ark.), who sponsored the bill, emphasized the importance of safety, privacy, and comfort for students in public schools.

Similar laws have been enacted in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, although lawsuits in Oklahoma and Tennessee challenge these restrictions. More than two dozen bills have been filed in 17 different states proposing similar measures in 2023.

Opponents of the new law claim that it does not provide schools with the required funding to provide accommodations. Clayton Crockett, a father of a transgender child, argues that a similar policy at his daughter’s school further marginalized her.

“She feels targeted, she feels discriminated against, she feels bullied, she feels singled out,” Crockett said in January.

The signing of the new law comes a week after Sanders approved legislation that would make it easier to sue medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care to minors. She has also previously enacted a law that prohibits classroom instruction on the subjects of gender identity and sexual orientation before the fifth grade.

The new law will not take effect until 90 days after the current legislation session ends on April 7th, but it will be enforced before the new school year (2023-2024) begins.

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