South Carolina Senate passes bill restricting transgender students’ bathroom use

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

South Carolina Senate passes bill restricting transgender students' bathroom use

https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/south-carolina-trans-bathroom-bill 🔗

Christopher Wiggins (27 March 2026)

The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill restricting transgender students' access to bathrooms and locker rooms, advancing legislation that reflects a widening shift in how Republican-led states are regulating the everyday lives of trans people and aligning with a growing number of Republican-led states adopting similar policies.

The proposal passed Monday by a 35-2 vote, with two Democratic state senators voting against it. The state senate comprises 34 Republicans and 12 Democrats. The measure, which now heads to the GOP-controlled House.

The legislation would extend existing state rules to both K-12 schools and public colleges, requiring multi-user restrooms, locker rooms, and changing facilities to be used by individuals based on their sex assigned at birth. Schools would be required to provide alternative options, such as single-occupancy restrooms, for students who cannot or do not wish to comply. The bill would also make permanent a policy already in place through the state budget and include enforcement mechanisms that could penalize school districts that fail to comply, such as reductions in state funding.

The vote places South Carolina within a broader national pattern: after years of focusing on sports participation and gender-affirming care, lawmakers are increasingly targeting routine spaces like bathrooms, dorms, and school facilities, where gender identity is lived rather than debated.

[ChrissyRyan]

Lots more of the single occupancy restrooms may be needed at places.