This school year will see a new California law that requires schools to provide mixed-gender bathrooms. SB 760, authored by then-state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, requires schools to include at least one “all-gender” restroom. Supporters have framed the bill as a way to protect trans students from bullying, while detractors have expressed concerns over the law’s apparent lack of concern from protecting biological girls. The law also mandates that restrooms start providing menstrual products starting at third grade.

The all-gender bathrooms can be either single stall or multi-stall and must be unlocked at all times and easily accessible. The California Department of Education (CDE) released a webpage specifically for information on “All Access Restrooms.” The page offers design plans for schools, details on laws and regulations, and resources. The website also notes that while current state law permits separated gendered bathrooms (i.e. bathrooms specifically for boys and bathrooms specifically for girls) the aim is “shifting from multi-user gendered restrooms and single-user all-gender restrooms to offering blocks of restroom facilities for all students.” So, while the law only requires single-user all-gender bathrooms at this time, there are those who hope to expand to bathrooms where boys and girls in schools are going into the same bathroom at once. The CDE justified the law, stating its purpose is so that trans students are “able to access restrooms safely and without fear of shame or stigma affects student health, learning, attendance, and school climate for all students.”

As the law currently stands, Greg Burt, Vice President of the conservative California Family Council, noted that parents need to find out whether their school is adopting a more conservative or progressive approach to bathroom designs. “How each school fulfills this new requirement is entirely up to the local school board. A conservative district might simply relabel a single-occupancy nurse’s bathroom and call it done. A progressive district could use this law as a green light to convert entire multi-stall restroom facilities to mixed-sex use,” he said. “Parents need to find out right now what their district is planning.” The California Family Council encourages parents to reach out to their school boards early in order to influence the type of all-gender bathroom their district invests in.