After the snow day, this past Tuesday, the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee voted SB 728, a bill disguised as Parental Rights that makes LGBTQ+ students more vulnerable in classrooms, at home, and now bathrooms. The bill author, Sen. Koenig, amended the original bill during committee by adding a bathroom ban forcing students to use school restrooms according to their sex assigned on their birth certificate rather than aligning with the gender identity.
The amendment was not added quietly as Senators from both sides of the aisles opposed it for its harm and for the fact that the committee did not hear public testimony on the topic. We're sincerely grateful to Sens. Razer (D), Arthur (D), Beck (D), and Gannon (R) who not only opposed the amendment and the bill, but also stood firm in standing up for LGBTQ+ students.