California lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that would require public K-12 schools to let transgender students choose which restrooms they use and which school teams they join based on their gender identity instead of their chromosomes.
Some school districts around the country have implemented similar policies, but the bill's author says AB1266 would mark the first time a state has mandated such treatment by statute.
California's bill would give students the right "to participate in sex-segregated programs, activities and facilities" based on their self-perception, regardless of their birth gender.
It sparked an impassioned debate on the Senate floor about when transgender students' right to expression might conflict with other students' discomfort and right to privacy.
Supporters said the bill is needed to protect students from bullying and other abuse. They also said it represents the next front in their effort to provide equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, just days after same-sex marriages resumed in California.
Opponents said the state is going too far if it permits opposite-sex students to use restrooms and locker rooms.
"It is not all about discrimination. Elementary and secondary students of California — our most impressionable, our most vulnerable — now may be subjected to some very difficult situations," said Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen.
Parents, school administrators and school board members would have no say over students who identify themselves as transgender and enter shower rooms or bathrooms used by the opposite sex, Nielsen said, warning that the privilege could be abused by youthful sex offenders.
