Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs bill to restrict bathroom access for transgender students

Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill to prohibit transgender Ohioans from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, according to Republican lawmakers.

The new law will require K-12 and college students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex assigned at birth. It also bans multi-occupancy gender neutral restrooms and prevents transgender students from sharing overnight accommodations with peers of the same gender.

The measure was folded into Senate Bill 104, which will update a state college credit program. Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond, thanked DeWine Wednesday morning for approving the legislation. One of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, told the statehouse bureau that the governor signed it.

DeWine has not yet released a statement about the bill ? something he commonly does ? and his spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"Common sense is on a winning streak in America today," Center for Christian Virtue President Aaron Baer said in a statement Wednesday morning. "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."

The restrictions don't apply to school employees, emergency situations or people assisting young children or someone with a disability. Schools could still offer single-use and family facilities.

Ohio joins at least a dozen other states with laws that restrict bathroom access for transgender people. About 3.3% of high school students identify as transgender and 2.2% are questioning, according to a survey conducted last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DeWine's decision came nearly a year after he vetoed legislation that bans gender-affirming care for minors and blocks transgender girls and women from playing in female sports. The governor faced blowback from President-elect Donald Trump and House and Senate Republicans, who voted to override his veto.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio sued the state on behalf of two transgender girls and their families, but a Franklin County judge ruled in August that the law could take effect. The lawsuit is ongoing.

This story will be updated.

Haley BeMiller covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs transgender bathroom ban