As a queer former teacher, I know Ohio's bathroom law will harm students
Ohio's anti-trans "bathroom bill" − Senate Bill 104 − requiring K-12 schools and colleges to ensure that students use the bathroom corresponding with their sex assigned at birth went into effect on Feb. 25. Teachers and administrators who care deeply about creating a safe and respectful environment for all students are now in the difficult position of enforcing a law that causes harm to transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive students.
As a former teacher, I'll break down some key reasons why this law is both unnecessary and harmful for everyone involved.
Teachers already have a lot on their plates. They juggle lesson planning, student safety and countless other responsibilities. Adding "bathroom monitoring" to their list is unreasonable.
This law was created by politicians who don't understand the daily realities of teachers or their students. Forcing teachers to follow unnecessary and harmful rules only increases their stress, takes time away from students and takes time away from teaching. This law isn't about protecting students; it's about demonizing transgender students.
More: Cincinnati Children's Hospital doesn't threaten minors. Anti-trans politicians do. | Opinion
Forcing students to use the wrong bathrooms leaves them feeling unsafe and distressed. According to the Trevor Project's 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, "53% of LGBTQ+ young people reported experiencing recent symptoms of depression, including nearly three in five transgender and nonbinary young people (59%) and more than two in five cisgender young people (44%)."
Creating an environment where students feel unsafe and distressed seven-plus hours a day, five days a week for months out of the year would just add to those numbers in Ohio. Ultimately, teachers want to help their students, but this law creates confusion and limits their ability to provide support. Transgender students already face challenges, and laws like this ignore their needs and cause lasting harm.
As Randy Marsh from South Park famously said, "I thought this was America." This law strips away our students' freedom to choose how to express their gender. For many transgender students, being able to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity is essential to their dignity and self-expression. When we take that away, we strip away the freedoms that define us as Americans.
In doing so, SB 104 limits freedom of speech and expression - a constitutional right - by forcing people to act and speak in ways that don't reflect who they truly are.
Teachers work hard to create safe and inclusive spaces for all students. Research from GLSEN, an organization focused on ending discrimination and bullying of LGBTQ people, shows that LGBTQ+ students feel a stronger sense of belonging when schools adopt inclusive policies. This law undermines those efforts.
As someone who grew up queer and attended a public school in Centerville, Ohio, I know how important it is for students to feel safe and supported. School was one of the few places where I could explore my identity without fear. By enforcing this law, we are denying future generations the chance to do the same.
Instead of divisive laws like SB 104, let's focus on real issues like school-based violence, access to healthy lunches, educational achievement and more. Let's stop trying to govern bathrooms over baseless claims and start addressing the challenges facing our schools and students.
Nico Schrenk is an openly queer LGBTQ+ advocate and public speaker who serves in the Department of External Affairs at Equitas Health as the Name Change Clinic Coordinator for the Ohio Name Change Legal Clinic, which is a partnership between Equitas Health and TransOhio. These legal clinics offer free monthly legal assistance to the transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive community of Ohio in accessing their legal name changes and/or gender marker changes on identity documents.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio's bathroom law is a cruel attack on trans students
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