Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill banning transgender K-12 students from using bathrooms consistently with their transgender identity. They must only use the bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their cisgender identity assigned at birth.
The bill outlaws transgender students spending the night with peers of the same gender. DeWine ignored pleas from transgender Ohio residents, allies and educators to veto the bill.
"We made it clear to Gov. DeWine and Ohio legislators that SB 104 does nothing to make trans students safer in schools, and, in fact, makes life more dangerous for trans kids in Ohio," said Equality Ohio Executive Director
Aaron Baer, president of the right-wing Center For Christian Virtue, said in a statement, "Common sense is on a winning streak in America today. No student should be forced to go into the bathroom or locker room with a student of the opposite sex, and Ohio's kids are better protected now because of Governor DeWine's decision to sign this bill."
At least a 14 other states prevent transgender people bathroom access that corresponds to their gender, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
While he declined an ABC News request for comment ahead of the bill signing, DeWine told reporters last summer, "I'm for people, kids, to be able to go to the bathroom with the gender assignment so that they have that protection, but I'll have to look at the specific language."
The law says, "No institution of higher education shall knowingly permit a member of the female biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the male biological sex. No institution of higher education shall knowingly permit a member of the male biological sex to use a student restroom, locker room, changing room, or shower room that has been designated by the school for the exclusive use of the female biological sex."
Gender identity can be different than the biological sex assigned at birth.
The American Medical Association opposes laws or policies banning transgender people from accessing basic human services and public facilities consistent with their personal gender identity.
According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, transgender youth who are barred from using bathrooms aligned with their gender identities are at a greater risk of sexual violence.
The transgender school bathroom ban was added to H.B. 183 late in the process of considering a broader education bill. The Ohio Senate concurred with the change added in by the House.