PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota’s governor faces a Tuesday deadline to make a decision about a bill that would require transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex at birth.
Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard hasn’t said what he plans to do with the proposal. If he signs the legislation or allows it to take effect without his signature, South Dakota would become the first state in the nation with such a law.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign have condemned the legislation as discriminatory, but Republican supporters say it’s meant to protect the privacy of students. The state’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved the plan in February.
Transgender rights have become a new flashpoint in the nation’s cultural clashes following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage last year. The high court victory encouraged advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights to push harder, prompting backlash from conservatives.
Other high-profile cases include last week’s vote in North Carolina by the Charlotte City Council to allow transgender people to choose a bathroom. The vote was immediately criticized by Gov. Pat McCrory, who said it denied privacy rights for those who expect to share restrooms or locker rooms only with people born with the same anatomy.
In Texas, Houston voters soundly defeated an ordinance that would have banned discrimination against transgender people after opponents alleged it would allow sexual predators to go into women’s bathrooms.
Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender activist and former Olympic decathlon gold medalist, has called on Daugaard to veto the South Dakota bill. And opponents nationwide have used a Twitter hashtag created by South Dakota’s Tourism Department to pan lawmakers and take aim at the state’s roughly $3.8 billion visitor industry.
The governor initially offered a positive reaction to the proposal, but said he needed to research the issue and listen to testimony before making a decision. Last week, he met with three opponents of the bill who are transgender and heard their personal stories. Before the meeting, the governor said he had never knowingly met a transgender individual.
Transgender rights advocates have criticized comments made by some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. David Omdahl.
“I’m sorry if you’re so twisted you don’t know who you are,” he said when asked about the bill in February. “I’m telling you right now, it’s about protecting the kids, and I don’t even understand where our society is these days.”
Under the plan, schools would be required to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for transgender students, such as a single-occupancy bathroom or the “controlled use” of a staff-designated restroom, locker room or shower room.
Supporters say the proposal is a response to changes in President Barack Obama administration’s interpretation of the federal Title IX anti-discrimination law related to education. Federal officials have said barring students from restrooms that match their gender identity is prohibited under Title IX.
Republican Rep. Fred Deutsch, the proposal’s main sponsor in the South Dakota House, has said the plan “pushes back against federal overreach and intrusion into our lives.”