All NYC schools required to have single-stall bathrooms for trans students
All schools in New York City will soon be required to have single-stall bathrooms for transgender students.
City officials announced on Wednesday that all schools must comply with the new regulation by January 2018.
They described the single-stall bathrooms as “safe spaces” for students.
The Department of Education also said that the facilities would not require special permissions or “medical documentation” for access.
By June, the first phase of the scheme will be rolled out, and the rest will be required to have single-stall bathrooms by the first month of 2018.
The Department has said it will work with school administrators to help convert some existing bathrooms into student-friendly facilities.
“No one should ever feel shame or fear discrimination and violence when using a restroom,” said City Councilman Daniel Dromm in a statement.
“For many disabled, transgender and gender-nonconforming children and young people with medical conditions, this simple act can be a traumatising experience.”
The move towards genderless bathrooms is a stark contrast to proposals in other parts of the country, such as North Carolina’s hugely controversial bathroom bill, also known as HB2.
The law, which was passed in 2016, banned trans people from using gender-appropriate bathrooms, as well as rolling back LGBT+ anti-discrimination laws.
The state has since lost a string of big investments, and could face losing out on more than 100 champion-level sporting events.
Similarly, the Texas senate passed a bill which bans gender neutral bathrooms and forces trans people to use toilets of their ‘biological sex’.
More than 55 athletes have since signed an open letter in opposition to the Texas bathroom bill, saying they were “committed to upholding the very values that sport instils in each of us.”
“Values like fair play, equality, inclusion and respect.”
It continues: “We believe that everyone should be afforded the same access, opportunity, and experience both in sport and under the law.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a total of 13 states were considering laws by late March that limit access to bathrooms in some way.
