All-Gender Bathrooms in Every K–12 School, Proposes California Bill — but Some Bay Area Districts Are Way Ahead

By Sydney Johnson

Excerpted from KQED

California public schools could soon all be equipped with an all-gender restroom for students during the school day, if a state bill introduced this month passes.

The proposal marks a stark contrast to the 16 anti-transgender bathroom bills that are currently in the legislative process in states such as Idaho and Arkansas, where lawmakers are looking to restrict students to using only the bathroom consistent with their assigned sex at birth.

Supporters of California’s bathroom bill, SB 760, say the all-student restroom option will help provide a safe and private bathroom to any kid, regardless of their gender identity. And several California school districts are already ahead of the curve.

“It was necessary that we find a legislative fix to standardize access to bathrooms across California and solve this problem not just for current students having these challenges, but future students as well,” said Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), who authored the bill. “To me, this is less about education than just fair treatment and decency.”

Starting in January 2025, the bill would require each California school district to provide at least one all-gender restroom for students to use at every school campus. The restroom would have to meet the same requirements that school bathrooms already must follow, such as regular maintenance, cleaning, stocked toilet paper and soap, and it must be unlocked and accessible during school hours.

They would also need signage indicating that the restroom is open to all students.

For many schools, it could be a matter of simply repurposing an existing single-stall restroom to fulfill the requirement.

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