Oklahoma transgender bathroom bill defeated in committee
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KTUL) -- Oklahoma legislators on Tuesday heard a proposed bill that would make it illegal for transgender students to use public school bathrooms designated for the sex opposite that which they were born.
Late Tuesday afternoon, word spread that Senate Bill 1619, authored by President Pro Tempore of the Senate Brian Bingman and Speaker of the House Jeff Hickman, would not be heard this legislative session. However, SB 1619 was added as an emergency item to the agenda for the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget meeting.
According to the Junior Legislative Report Twitter account, the meeting was recessed with a tie vote 10 to 10.
SB 1619 would have made public school bathrooms exclusively for the sex the student was born.
The bill was filed in response to the Obama administration's federal directive instructing public schools to provide bathroom access to transgender students.
According to the directive, schools that receive federal funding must allow transgender students access to the bathroom of their choosing under Title IX requirements or risk losing funding.
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According to the Joint Legislative Report, the bill is not dead but remains property of the Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget.
