Arkansas joins several Republican-led states to fight against the Left's push on a woke transgender agenda.
On Tuesday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) signed a bill into law banning transgender students from using the restroom of their choice in public schools.
"The Governor has said she will sign laws that focus on protecting and educating our kids, not indoctrinating them and believes our schools are no place for the radical left's woke agenda," Sanders' spokesperson, Alexa Henning, said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Arkansas isn't going to rewrite the rules of biology just to please a handful of far-left advocates."
The legislation applies to kindergarten through 12th-grade students, requiring them to use the bathroom that aligns with their biological gender. School officials, superintendents, teachers, and all other staff who are found in violation of the newly enacted law could face a fine of $1,000. Parents could also file lawsuits against the school if it breaks the law.
Although the law won't go into effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends on April 7, the rule will be in place before the new school year begins in 2023.
"Each child in our schools has a right to privacy and to feel safe and to feel comfortable in the bathroom they need to go to," Rep. Mary Bentley (R-AR), a sponsor of the bill, told lawmakers earlier this year.
Critics of the bill claim Sanders is unfairly singling out transgender students for no other reason than dislike, disapproval, and misunderstanding of them.
The state is also considering another bill that would charge someone with a misdemeanor who uses a public restroom or changing room not aligned with their biological sex when a minor is present with sexual indecency with a child.
Arkansas is the fourth state to enact a bill protecting students from transgender kids who feel they have the right to share a bathroom or locker room with someone opposite of their biological gender just because they think they were born in the wrong body. Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have similar laws already in place. Idaho and Iowa have also passed bills in the legislature. However, they are waiting on the governor's signature.
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