A bill prohibiting transgender students from using the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities will not make it to the full Senate.
Despite the removal of a controversial provision allowing students to sue schools for $2,500 if they encounter a transgender student in a restroom not assigned to their biological sex, Republican Sen. C.B. Embry’s “Kentucky Student Privacy Act” failed in committee Thursday.
"I think this legislation would eliminate a great deal of bullying because there would be no confrontations. Everyone would be accommodated," the bill sponsor said, arguing separate facilities would respect privacy rights across the board.
But the panel also heard from transgender student Henry Brousseau, who until recently had been barred from using the boys bathroom at Louisville Collegiate School.
"Because the school administration did not support my gender identity by letting me use the restrooms concordant with my gender identity the kids in my school bullied me. The kids thought that because the administration didn't support my gender identity, they didn't have to either," Brusseau told the panel.
Opponents of the bill said it’s a matter best handled by local school boards while supporters argued it’s a debate that needs to continue in Frankfort.
