School and workplace protections for transgender people exist at the federal level but are under challenge by many states, including Ohio.

Proposed state legislation would limit sports participation, and an ongoing federal lawsuit seeks to reverse the Biden Administration’s policies on transgender people’s use of preferred facilities such as restrooms.

“Ohio is one of 29 states currently without statewide LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections,” said Kathryn Poe, public policy and digital manager for Equality Ohio. “Currently, the Ohio Fairness Act, which would give LGBTQ+ these protections, is awaiting hearings in both the Ohio House and Senate and is supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, community leaders, and more than 1,200 Ohio businesses.”

State Sens. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Michael Rulli, R-Salem, cosponsor the Ohio Fairness Act as Senate Bill 119. It would “prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression” while upholding religious exemptions that exist under Ohio’s Civil Rights Law.

Introduced and sent to the Senate Government Oversight & Reform Committee in March 2021, the bill has not been brought up for a hearing.

Equality Ohio works with local governments to pass nondiscrimination policies and ban conversion therapy, they said.

“Currently, more than 30% of Ohioans are protected by 35 local ordinances protecting LGBTQ+ people, including the transgender community,” Poe said.

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights and U.S. Department of Justice all maintain that Title IX protections under the 1972 Title IX civil rights law include treating transgender students consistently with their gender identity, according to Sara Clark, chief legal counsel for the Ohio School Boards Association.

Several federal appellate rulings, including by the Sixth Circuit that covers Ohio, have agreed that transgender students should be granted access to their preferred restrooms and locker rooms, but the U.S. Supreme Court hasn’t yet ruled on the subject, Clark said.

“Over the past several years, we have received many questions from local school districts on the topic of accommodating transgender students and whether specific accommodations are required, given the guidance in place at the time. We encourage districts to work with students requesting accommodations on a case-by-case basis,” Clark said.

School specifics

In the absence of statewide educational policy on…