Arizona lawmakers send Hobbs school ‘restroom accommodation’ bill

(The Center Square) – Republican lawmakers in Arizona have sent Gov. Katie Hobbs legislation that would allow parents to sue the school if their children are exposed to a classmate of the opposite sex in a restroom.

Senate Bill 1040, cited as the Arizona Accommodations for All Children Act, passed along party lines on May 15. The bill, if enacted, would dictate restroom policy on two fronts.

The first requirement would be for public schools to offer “reasonable accommodation to a person who is unwilling or unable to use specified facilities designated for their sex in a public-school building.”

Should a student encounter someone of the opposite sex in a restroom, SB 1040 gives the child’s parents the right to sue for “monetary damages for psychological, emotional and physical harm suffered; and reasonable attorney fees and costs.”

The lawsuit must be heard in the jurisdiction where the offense occurred.

Senate sponsor John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said the bill was meant to be a middle ground between those who objected to the thought of transgender people sharing bathrooms with those of opposite biological sex and those afraid of alienating a community with a disproportionate rate of suicide and depression.

“This bill attempts to attempts to draw a compromise,” he said on Feb. 28. “This bill attempts to respect the privacy rights of those who are uncomfortable being in a restroom, a locker room, a school shower or in a room on an overnight trip…with a member of the opposite biological sex with the need for people who cannot, or will not do that to still have an accommodation.”

Democrats said the bill would make an already stressful environment and make it much worse for a trans individual.

“We are going to take a group of children who already feel incredibly ‘other-ized’ and further dehumanize them,” said Rep. Jennifer Longdon, D-Phoenix. “It’s wrong.”

Peoria Public Schools loomed over the bill’s legislative journey. The west valley district voted in April not to adopt formal rules for gender in their bathrooms. The decision sparked protests.

Gov. Katie Hobbs may veto the bill, as she has several others affecting the LGBTQ community that were sponsored by Republicans.