Key Takeaways:
- The new Texas "bathroom bill" restricts public restroom access for transgender people based on sex assigned at birth.
- Opponents of the law have begun challenging its enforcement, citing lack of clear guidelines and potential for uneven and invasive enforcement.
- Cities and counties must comply with the law, but some are exploring ways to circumvent its restrictions, such as replacing multi-occupancy restrooms with single-person restrooms.
- The law carries steep penalties for institutions where violations occur, but individuals are not individually punished.
- Community colleges and universities in Texas are rolling out new policies and signage to comply with the law.
Introduction to the Bathroom Bill
In the week since Texas’ new "bathroom bill" went into effect, opponents of the restrictions have begun challenging both the spirit and letter of the law, as questions remain on how it can be enforced. The law, also known as Senate Bill 8, restricts what public restrooms, locker rooms, and other similar facilities transgender people can use in public buildings by determining access based on sex assigned at birth. The law does not mandate a policy, but requires that cities, counties, and public agencies take "every reasonable step" to ensure people do not enter restrooms not matching their sex assigned at birth.
Protest and Enforcement
Supporters of the law pushed for more than a decade to cement the sex-based restrictions SB 8 creates as a way of protecting women’s private spaces. Opponents of the law, however, have maintained the lack of clear guidelines on how to uphold SB 8 will lead to uneven, ineffective, and potentially invasive enforcement. On December 6, a group of protesters went to the Texas Capitol to test the claim. After initially being able to enter the restrooms matching their gender identity and giving a series of speeches in the Capitol rotunda, the protesters were barred from again entering the bathrooms by several Department of Public Safety officers. Some protesters attempting to enter the women’s restroom were asked to show their IDs, which DPS said in a statement were voluntary checks to ensure compliance, but did not specify why those who did not show IDs were not allowed into the restroom.
Lack of Clear Guidelines
DPS cited the State Preservation Board’s public restroom policy, which was updated in February, and "expects" visitors to use restrooms matching their "biological sex." The policy does not mention a required verification process. Officers ultimately let two trans women into the restroom after they shared their IDs, which had female markers, according to a video shared online by the 6W Project, a new advocacy group that organized the protest. Protesters also said the men’s restrooms were not guarded by officers. Matilda Miller, 6W Project president, said, "I think that the Texas government just established that they have no consistent enforceable standards for this law." Ry Vazquez, one of the founders of the 6W Project, was briefly detained by DPS during the protest and given a criminal trespass warning along with three others. Vazquez, who herself is trans, said the lack of DPS officers at the men’s room and the admittance of the two other trans women proved SB 8 could not be evenly enforced and poses a danger to anyone placed under scrutiny by officials.
Potential Consequences
Vazquez and other opponents have said the law could encourage people to photograph or harass people in public restrooms, an issue that has preceded SB 8’s implementation, including once at the state’s Capitol. In 2023, Williamson County GOP Chair Michelle Evans posted a photo online of a transgender woman inside a Texas Capitol bathroom, leading to officers confiscating Evans’ phone. Travis County Jose Garza also launched an investigation into Evans to evaluate whether she had broken state law. Evans sued Garza to block the investigation, claiming she was within her First Amendment rights to post the photo displaying the inside of the bathroom. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled in Garza’s favor, allowing the investigation to continue.
City and County Compliance
Cities and counties must also comply with SB 8’s restrictions, but Austin City Council is hoping a new resolution passed Thursday will circumvent what they feel is an intentionally exclusionary law. The resolution kicks off a program from the city manager to help find ways to replace multi-occupancy restrooms affected by SB 8 with single-person restrooms. Council members said they hope the resolution will create a more welcoming environment for trans and gender-nonconforming Austinites. Austin City Council member Mike Siegel said, "We don’t know if anyone else has done this. In some ways, Texas is the testing ground for new discriminatory and hateful policies, and we’re just responding as creatively as we can." There are roughly 287 restroom facilities operated by the City of Austin, according to an October report from Austin Facilities Management, 72 of which currently have no single-occupancy restrooms.
University and College Compliance
Several colleges and universities in Texas have begun shifting policies on their campuses to comply with SB 8. The University of Texas at San Antonio relocated roughly 30 students living on-campus to comply with SB 8, according to a press release from the university. Texas Tech University System implemented a new system-wide regulation echoing much of the language of SB 8, but does not list any potential penalties for noncompliance. Community colleges across the state have also rolled out new guidance and signage in response to the law. At Texarkana College and Blinn College, signs posted outside restrooms clarify each facility for use by those with matching "biological sex." Tarrant Community College also released guidance online for students and faculty navigating the law’s effects, and emphasized that reporting violations is strictly voluntary and not mandatory.
Conclusion and Future
Public schools are also affected by SB 8, however whether the Texas Education Agency will provide guidance to districts on implementation remains unclear. Some school districts, like Carroll Independent School District, have been implementing individual policies regulating restroom use based on biological sex since 2023. The TEA did not respond to requests for comment about SB 8. Despite the resolution’s attempt to distance Austin from SB 8’s intent, supporters of the new law also applauded the resolution, including Mary Elizabeth Castle, director of government relations for Texas Values, a conservative advocacy group. Texas Values has long advocated for bathroom bills in the state, and Castle said during Austin City Council testimony Thursday that the city’s decision to align with the law is a step in the right direction. However, Austin City Council members acknowledged they hope the resolution is only a temporary solution for what they believe is an unconstitutional law that will eventually be overturned.
