88R9763 CXP-D
By: Toth H.B. No. 5256
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a public school policy regarding multi-occupancy
bathrooms or changing facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.044 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.044. POLICY REGARDING MULTI-OCCUPANCY BATHROOM OR
CHANGING FACILITY. (a) In this section, "multi-occupancy bathroom
or changing facility" means a facility designed or designated for
use by more than one person at a time, where a person may be in a
state of undress in the presence of another person, regardless of
whether the facility provides curtains or partial walls for
privacy. The term includes a restroom, locker room, changing room,
or shower room.
(b) A school district shall ensure that any policy adopted
by the district regarding multi-occupancy bathrooms or changing
facilities protects:
(1) the health, safety, and welfare of students;
(2) the confidentiality of student educational
information as required under state and federal law, including the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C.
Section 1232g); and
(3) the privacy interests of all students and the
students' parents.
(c) If a school district adopts a policy that allows for
separation of multi-occupancy bathrooms or changing facilities
according to a criterion other than a person's biological sex
assigned at birth, the policy must:
(1) include:
(A) a description of:
(i) which multi-occupancy bathrooms or
changing facilities are not separated by biological sex assigned at
birth; and
(ii) if a multi-occupancy bathroom or
changing facility is not separated by biological sex assigned at
birth, the method by which students will be supervised in that
facility and the manner in which that method of supervision ensures
the safety and privacy of students; and
(B) accommodations or modifications for students
who wish to use a multi-occupancy bathroom or changing facility
separated by biological sex assigned at birth; and
(2) be:
(A) posted on the district's Internet website;
and
(B) provided at the beginning of each school year
by mail to each parent of a student enrolled in the district.
(d) The requirements under Subsection (c) do not apply to a
faculty bathroom that is not accessible to students.
SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2023-2024
school year.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.