Committee advances bill requiring sex‑designated multi‑occupancy restrooms in public schools after heated testimony

Senator Dan Larson told the House Labor, Health & Social Services Committee that Senate File 62 would require each public school district to designate multiple‑occupancy restrooms and changing rooms for exclusive use by the male or female sex as defined in existing state statute, and to provide reasonable accommodations such as single‑occupancy restrooms.

Larson described the bill as a response to incidents in his area, saying a parent reported that “there was a male student that was in the bathroom” and that some girls “would just not even go to the restroom, you know, all day almost.” He acknowledged the proposal resembles measures adopted in other states and noted litigation is pending in some jurisdictions that adopted similar laws.

The bill defines “multiple‑occupancy restroom or changing room” and borrows the statute’s definition of sex assigned at birth to read: “biological, physical condition of being…