North Dakota Governor Signs Bill to Enforce One Gender Bathroom Policy For K-12 Schools

(Micah Drew/Daily Montanan via the North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Mary Steurer. North Dakota Monitor) – Gov. Kelly Armstrong  signed a bill that prevents K-12 public schools from having all-gender bathrooms. It allows parents to file complaints if they think their child’s school is not following state laws governing accommodations for transgender students.

House Bill 1144 updates a law adopted in 2023 that prevents transgender students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender.

It also bars schools and teachers from requiring or prohibiting someone to use students’ preferred pronouns. On top of this, the law requires schools and teachers to tell a child’s parents if they learn the child is transgender.

House Bill 1144 is meant to give teeth to that law by adding legal penalties. Some lawmakers said they believed schools would not follow the policy without the threat of consequences.