Legislative Updates: Laws On Bathroom Use?

Many Northwest High School students are shocked and appalled by a law that has been placed on bathroom usage for students, Iowa Senate File 482, which was signed into law on March 23rd, 2023. 

In an email sent by Superintendent Dr. Brad Buck, it was revealed that the school must abide by the new law. The email stated, “Iowa Senate File 482 was signed into law yesterday, and goes into effect immediately, requiring students, employees, parents, and visitors to use bathrooms, changing rooms, and other facilities as defined in the law, in accordance with their biological sex.” The email continued, “Under this new law, any student who, for any reason, desires greater privacy when using the restroom, changing rooms, and other facilities defined in the law, may submit a written request to their building principal, which must be signed by the student’s parent or guardian.” 

This new legislation has posed many problems that LGBTQ+ students have been left to deal with. The main problem being the written request. This is because not all LGBTQ+ students have, or are able to come out to their parents, ergo, the written request to use the bathroom would force students to either come out to their parents before they might be ready, or be subjected to using a bathroom that they are not comfortable using. 

Senior Parker Lambert explained his fear for all LGBTQ+ Iowans. Lambert stated, “Not every district is as inclusive as ours, so this rule puts LGBTQ+ people all over Iowa in danger.” Lambert continued, expressing that he believes that the written requests are going to be a big problem. “Not only is coming out a very personal change that can be hard for yourself to understand, but especially if your parents don’t accept that, it’s not safe for you to ask for those accommodations,” Lambert stated. For many students, no matter the circumstances, school is often a safe space. When legislation is put into place that diminishes the safety that students feel at school, it can make situations worse for so many students. “You could just be putting yourself farther and farther into the closet, now knowing that you can’t use the proper bathroom for yourself at school, and also knowing that there’s no way that you could in the future,” he stated. “This law is a gateway to more anti-trans or anti-LGBTQ legislation to come, it just opens up a whole new door,” Lambert added.

Junior Naomi Pittman shared her initial thoughts on the matter. She explained, “It’s just horrifying to hear that they would take a non-issue like this, something that has harmed no one, and use it to hurt kids that are already struggling.” Pittman is the vice president of the Northwest Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). She acknowledged Northwest’s supportive administration, saying how lucky students are to have them, but also how some schools might not be as lucky. “We are lucky here in Waukee, to have a supportive administration, but across Iowa, I know that our fellow GSAs will have issues,” Pittman stated. In April, the Northwest GSA will be attending the Iowa Annual Governor’s Conference for LGBTQ youth. Pittman shared how she does not think that Kim Reynolds is a very frequent visitor. She explained what the conference is supposed to look like, and her hopes for the upcoming event. “It’s supposed to be a place when we can give feedback to her, and I think this is going to be the first year where I think we really have something to say,” stated Pittman.

Sophomore Alex Johnson agreed, explaining how he thinks written consent might be a problem that some students have to face. Johnson said, “I think it’s good that they are allowing trans people to use the bathroom that they are comfortable, with written consent, but at the same time, they might not be out to their parents, so that would be forcing them to either be uncomfortable or to tell their parents something that they might not be ready for yet.” He also explained how he is trying to see the glass half full and how he hopes that this awful situation could maybe turn into something good. Johnson stated,  “I think that this law could definitely be a gateway to other laws like it, but I also think that it could hopefully be a reason for parents or other members of Congress to vote for bills to not be like this anymore if it causes too many issues in Iowa.”