Gov. Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota has vetoed a bill that would require transgender students in public schools to use bathrooms, locker rooms and other facilities that correspond to their gender at birth.
He emphatically argued that the bill would put schools in a difficult position of following state law while knowing it openly invites federal litigation. In the end, it will divert energy and resources from the education of the children of the state.
Daugaard emphasized that the bill, known as HB 1008, did not address any pressing issue facing the state.
"This bill seeks to impose statewide standards on 'every restroom, locker room, and shower room located in a public elementary or secondary school.' It removes the ability of local school districts to determine the most appropriate accommodations for their individual students and replaces that flexibility with a state mandate," Daugaard.
Thus, those accommodations include a single-occupancy restroom, a unisex restroom, or the controlled use of a restroom, locker room or shower room.
The governor believed that the local school officials are in best position to address such issue. Those Local School Districts can, and have, made necessary restroom and locker room accommodations that serve the best interests of all students, regardless of biological sex or gender identity.
State Rep. Fred Deutsch, who authored the bill, said the issue had become a distraction for the state and that he would ask his colleagues to grant the governor's veto.
"Further focus on this issue will detract from the other significant accomplishments of the Legislature this session," Deutsch said.
Mr. Deutsch conceded that the Federal Education Department had overstepped in its interpretation of Title IX, which bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programs, and that students' biological sex should determine which restroom they use.
Heather Smith, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, which had opposed the bill, said the veto was "definitely welcome."
"I think this is a very powerful statement for South Dakota students that their governor respects them and wants them to feel safe in school," she said.
Meanwhile, the governor was commended by transgender rights advocates.
Kris Hayashi, executive director of Transgender Law Center, shared, "Gov. Daugaard made the right call in vetoing this dangerous legislation, sparing South Dakota the risky and costly experiment of becoming the first state to mandate discrimination against transgender youth in violation of federal law and student privacy and well-being."
