Over 100 people crowded a Capitol hearing room Thursday to testify on a bill that would require transgender K-12 students to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex.
Under the proposal, authored by state Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, and state Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, schools would designate each bathroom or locker room to be used exclusively by students of a single sex. Transgender students would be barred from using the facility corresponding to the gender with which they identify.
Kremer touted his bill as a way to ensure a safe space for all students.
“The bill encourages a safe, private and dignified learning environment for all students, not just a few," Kremer said in his testimony.
Julaine Appling, the president of Wisconsin Family Action, criticized opponents of the bill and argued the measure ensures equality statewide.
“A bathroom is not an appropriate place for someone to seek validation of gender identity as a personal issue or as a cause,” Appling said in her testimony. “It is a social experiment that borders on child exploitation.”
Students from across the state, including some in elementary school, testified at the hearing, with many voicing their opposition to the bill.
A 15-year-old transgender student from Madison opposed the bill, saying his “mental health would be flushed down the toilet I’m not even allowed to use.”
"I know this is supposed to protect trans kids but it would do the opposite,” he testified.
Some lawmakers argued the bill addresses a problem which doesn’t exist and discriminates against students.
“Kids don’t care about this … we care for some reason,” said state Rep. Sondy Pope, D-Cross Plains. “This bill is not ready, not even close.”
Concerns also exist that the bill would open the door for legal action against the state or individual school districts. The proposal requires the state Department of Justice to defend it against legal challenge and some administrators say this could thrust students into a fierce legal battle.
“We have concerns about districts being sued and the expense of defending those kinds of things and what the range of remedies are," said Dan Rossmiller, lobbyist for the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.
A vote on the bill has not been scheduled.
