In mid-March, the Governor of Arkansas signed into law a measure that has the effect of preventing transgender students from using a school restroom that matches their gender identity. The law requires that multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, and shower rooms at pre-K-12 public schools and charter schools be designated for either males or females. Schools and school districts may rely on “the student's sex as identified on his or her original birth certificate” when enforcing the law. The law has similar provisions regarding overnight trips.

The law places the burden of enforcement on superintendents, principals, directors or administrative heads, and teachers. If the Professional Licensure Standards Board finds one or more of these educators to be non-compliant, they will be fined at least $1,000 and may face additional sanctions. In addition, the law empowers a parent to file a private lawsuit to enforce it.

The law also mandates, without funding, that the school district or charter school “provide a reasonable accommodation” such as “access to a single-occupancy restroom or changing area” to individuals who do not wish to use the multi-use facilities.

Your Student to Be Ensnared in the Legal Battles Over Gender Identity

What does this mean for parents and students? Among possible concerns is that your child gets caught up in a legal net woven from newly enacted or changed laws and the actions of school officials. School staff may be confused about exactly what the law requires, or they may give conflicting instructions or impose punishments on students that are based on a misunderstanding. Or, they may say one thing to students and another to the governing body.

States Across the Country Are Changing or Enacting Laws About Gender Identity That Affect School-Age Children

The Arkansas law is one of the recent manifestations of conflicts going on in states across the country regarding individuals who identify as transgender (although it does not use that term at all). Recent passage of new laws and reversals of existing ones make the expression “rapidly changing legal landscape” an understatement. Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have passed laws like the one in Arkansas, and similar bills are on deck in more than a dozen other states.

Whether you are in Arkansas or any other state where these kinds of laws are an issue, the Education Law Team at Lento Law Firm can provide the advice you need. And while it may seem reasonable to assume any issues about restroom use would only start at high school age, the Arkansas law applies to elementary and middle schools as well.

The Lento Law Firm Education Law Team is Ready to Help

Your child deserves to have their rights protected as they pursue their education. Attorney-Advisor Joseph D. Lento and his Education Law Team will help you ensure those rights are protected. Call the Lento Law Firm at 888-535-3686, or tell us about your case via the confidential form on our website.