Meeting Public Comments

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SF 224

A bill for an act prohibiting persons from entering single and multiple occupancy toilet facilities in elementary and secondary schools that do not correspond with the person’s biological sex.

Agenda

Subcommittee members: Carlin-CH, Celsi, Taylor, J.

Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Location: RM 24A

Comments Submitted:

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The purpose of comments is to provide information to members of the subcommittee.

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

02-09-2021

Jon Sims []

I oppose this bill. It is bigoted and transphobic. The GOP members that sponsor this bill are either ignorant or willfully malicious towards people who have different life experiences from them. Have some empathy, Iowa.

02-09-2021

Batyah Selis []

This bill would turn Iowa schools into places of surveillance, exclusion and intimidation for trans children, who already face huge obstacles to living safely and freely as themselves. SF224 is a cruel piece of legislation that will protect nobody and only cause harm. You have no right to deny children access to facilities based on their gender identity, and to police the gender identity and even bodily functions of Iowan students.

02-09-2021

Ann Kreitman []

First and foremost, the proposed bill is discriminatory and harmful to Transgender Iowans.As a former K12 educator, enforcing this bill would be incredibly disruptive to all students learning environment and dangerously harmful to trans students, 80% of whom already fear going to school due to their gender identity (from the National Center for Transgender Equality). The fear mongering over trans people using the bathroom must stop. Not only are the protect our little girls platitudes false (below I will link a study showing children do not care about this issue), but this bill is inspiring discrimination, marginalization, and violence towards trans people. I urge this committee to respect the research of medical professionals over opinions and fear. As a cisgender woman who dresses butch, the only time I have ever been afraid in a bathroom is when security was called on me because someone else using the bathroom didnt know if I was a woman or not. This proposed bill helps no one. Students should have the resources they need to learn. This includes the ability to use the bathroom. I am personally disgusted that this is the kind of bigotry our legislators are currently wasting taxpayer money on. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00918369.2019.1618646

02-09-2021

D. Ray []

This law is completely unneeded. Not only does it make life unnecessarily difficult for a group of kids already facing unique challenges, it also shows a complete lack of faith in teachers and the school system. They do not need lawmakers policing who can use the bathrooms in schools.

02-09-2021

Bryce Cook []

There is no evidence whatsoever that allowing trans people to use the bathroom which corresponds to their gender causes any sort of safety concerns. Trans people already face innumerable violences on a daily basis. Please throw out this disgusting, inhumane piece of legislature and show that you care about trans iowans. Fuck the transphobic piece of shit who had the audacity to write this bill.

02-09-2021

Rachel Snodgrass []

This bill is transphobic, invasive, and has no place in our schools. Trans people deserve to be treated with equality and kindness. They pose no threat to anyone. Bills like this one are a major violation of privacy and have been proven to have no impact on bathroom safety (if we can assume that some sort of safety concern is behind this proposal and not just blatant discrimination against trans people). A 2018 peerreviewed study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law found that there is NO empirical evidence that allowing people to use the bathroom of their choice leads to more safety or privacy violations (Hasenbush, Flores, & Herman). Beyond that, there is incredible diversity within the human species. There is no single metric to determine someones biological sex, and the state certainly has no business attempting to do so. I thought Republicans were all about small government? Stay out of our pants.

02-09-2021

Beaufort Leavenworth []

This bill is completely lacking morals and scientific knowledge. Those in the transgender community deserve the right to use the bathroom that corresponds to their gender, which is scientifically proven to be different than biological sex. Preventing young adults from being respected for their gender identity is horrendous. This bill should not pass.

02-09-2021

Lindsay Mattock []

Rather than protect the rights of Iowans, this bill discriminates and erases the simple right to safely use a restroom. Who will be policing the restrooms in our primary and secondary schools to enforce this law? Why not propose legislation that would ensure that all schools (and public buildings) have genderinclusive spaces that allow all students (and everyone) to feel safe? I strongly oppose any legislation that seeks to allow the state to police the bodies of any of our citizens.

02-09-2021

McKenna Proud []

As a decent human being, this bill disgusts me. As a person with multiple transgender friends, this bill disgusts me. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, this bill disgusts me. Transgender people are humans just like cisgender people are humans. They are not lesser, and they are not a threat. Alienating transgender persons will solve none of your fake problems.

02-09-2021

Jacy Highbarger []

The state has absolutely no business legislating on such personal and mundane matters as to which bathroom one uses. This bill protects no one (if anyone is pretending a goal here is protection) and will only cause harm. Trans people already face disproportionate rates of violence in daily life and society at large for simply being who they are. Who are you to choose to extend this violence and marginalization to something as small as BATHROOMS? Politicizing what should be a boring, normal, daily part of every person's life is beyond harmful. This is blatant discrimination and will only serve to foster disrespect and policing of already overpoliced and marginalized people. This bill should it pass would actively encourage violence toward and policing of people!youth!for using the goddamn bathroom. Folks, including CHILDREN!!!, have the right to enter restrooms without superfluous, deeply invasive questioning of identity and biology. This bill is violent, disrespectful, and cruel in its invasiveness. It's a discriminatory disruption of freedom. Find something actually important to worry about, I promise you there are a lot of other things that need infinitely more attention in this state.

02-09-2021

Corey Creekmur [University of Iowa]

This bill seems cruelly designed to do harm, not good. It stems from widely discredited, pernicious assumptions about gender and sexuality and will make Iowa a national embarrassment in this regard. If enacted, it would seek to "protect" children by in fact shaming and humiliating children, with longterm social and psychological consequences that, I assume, those seeking to pass this bill would not assume responsibility for. I have heard advocates of this bill cite a single work of supporting evidence, a book denounced by all credible medical and psychological experts in this field. The state of Iowa includes many people with prominent expertise in the area of trans studies: please consult them rather than sensational and risible books designed to stir up fear rather than productive and empathetic support.

02-09-2021

Katherine Berry []

Transgender students are students and deserve to use the bathroom. By passing this law, you are effectively telling trans and nonbinary Iowans that "we don't want you here." Many of your fellow representatives are touting mental health as an excuse to reopen schools; LGBT youth, especially those that are transgender, have a suicide rate 6 times that of nonLGBT youth. I am deeply disappointed by this legislation; for a state that claims to be "Iowa nice," you aren't acting like it. By passing this law, you are effectively denying a whole class of people the right and privilege to public restrooms.

02-09-2021

Heather Dunn []

As a transgender Iowan and a tax payer, I am deeply saddened that this harmful and mean spirited legislation has been introduced. There have been zero cases of women or girls being sexually assaulted or raped by a transgender woman using a public ladies room. This is in the words of the late conservative commentator, Charles Krauthammer stated, "this is a solution in desperate need of a problem." I am aghast that so called limited government conservatives want to employ big government to police where we use the bathroom!

02-09-2021

Lindsey Taylor []

This bill is dangerous, harmful, transphobic and a show of how little our state government cares about the health and wellbeing of transgender children. I have a transgender daughter, who would be directly harmed by being banned from using the bathroom at school. Forcing her to use the boys bathroom would severely harm her mental health, opening her up to severe bullying and assault for being a girl in the boys bathroom. Please leave our children alone and focus on more important issues to society than whether a child is allowed to use the bathroom at school.

02-09-2021

Noah Miller []

This is an unbelievably cruel and disrespectful bill. Trans people ARE PEOPLE. End of discussion. How a trans person identifies and what bathrooms they choose to use is an insanely stupid and unnecessary thing to get angry over and try to control. It is their life, let them live it and identify how they choose to.

02-09-2021

Briante Najev []

Forcing children to use a bathroom based on their biological sex is unnecessary. This bill would require trans children to use a bathroom of their biological sex rather than the gender they identify with. This bill will just cause pain for all children, especially trans children that may already be having a difficult time with their selfimage and identity. Not only will this bill psychologically harm children, but this bill does not align with the science communitys support of meaningful differences between biological sex (which is still being defined) and gender. Nor have bills like this helped their community, but rather increases hostility toward transgendered individuals. Lastly, this bill is very intrusive, and I shudder to think of the people that have to enforce the rules of it. Past bills about bathroom restrictions had different ways of determining how sex is identified: anatomy, genetics, and/or birth certificates. How would this bill even be properly implemented while preserving the dignity of children? Barnett, Brian S., Ariana E. Nesbit, and Rene M. Sorrentino. "The transgender bathroom debate at the intersection of politics, law, ethics, and science." The journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 46.2 (2018): 232241.

02-09-2021

Tal Rastopchin []

Trans children and students deserve to be comfortable in bathrooms and public spaces. It is extremely harmful to force students to occupy spaces that can be very uncomfortable and unsafe. Education should meet every persons needs, and identifying and policing trans students by forcing them into uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situations will adversely impact their education and wellbeing.

02-09-2021

Catlin Curry []

We need to support our youth. Our youth who identify as transgender side serve the right to use the restroom that matched the gender they identify with. Bills like this only endanger our youth and move our state backwards. We can do better than this type of hateful legislation.

02-09-2021

Jenn Marks []

This bill will do great harm to transgender and gender nonconforming young people in the state of Iowa. I vehemently oppose this bill and implore you to consult the scholarship and literature provided here by my fellow commenters.

02-09-2021

Elliot Wesselborg []

Access to safe bathroom facilities is a fundamental aspect of an individuals ability to participate in public life. If trans students in Iowa are made to fear harassment or intimidation by peers or school employees for simply using the bathroom which matches their gender expression, their school experience will not be one of enrichment and growth. As such, the proposed legislation would greatly impede trans students access to the public education to which they are legally entitled. No state that prides itself on the quality of its public schools should allow such harmful policies to be enacted upon its students.

02-09-2021

Deepika Raghavan []

This bill is extremely damaging and dangerous to a minority group that is already at higher risk for assault and mental illness. Schools should be safe places for all students. Additionally, there is no evidence that allowing trans youth or trans adults using bathrooms with which they identify increases the incidence of sexual assault of others. Its the exact opposite trans people are assaulted when they are forced to use facilities they dont identify with.

02-09-2021

Alexei Clements []

So let me get this straight. You're telling me that some lawmakers are so scared of trans folk that they make bills regarding what bathrooms they can use because they want to "out" them or don't see them as people? Doing this could irreversibly harm their mental health, or even get them killed. Transphobia is still a huge thing and I wish more government officials from this state would see us as people and not demons. We just want somewhere to be safe and be ourselves. And sometimes we just want to use the bathroom. Don't try and tell me what I can and can't do with my body. It doesn't belong to you so it's not your call. Outing people to their parents, whether they are adults or children, is NEVER okay.

02-09-2021

Elizabeth Mireault []

Long story short: you represent me, so it is time I add my voice to this plea. Do not take away transgender childrens rights in my name. I do not condone it, I do not agree with this bill.To make this plea longer, I will add: Our children struggle enough in their childhood as is. Add being a transgender child, and the world gets even more difficult. It is time we step up and embrace our children AS THEY ARE. We must love them and support them. If we punish them by not allowing them to use the bathroom for whichever gender they identify as, we are saying we dont accept you. You are different. You are a threat. You are not welcome. This will be detrimental to trans children. Their suicide rates are already some of the highest for marginalized people.Please, do not make us responsible for causing more harm. A bathroom is just a bathroom and there is no danger from a transgender youth using the bathroom they identify with. Literally none. This should be a nonissue, and making it one has already caused emotional upset. Leave this bill where it sits and do not let it pass. Do it for our children who are different. Help them to feel accepted as they are. Dont punish them for something they cant control. Dont make us responsible for the detriment it will cause.

02-09-2021

Mirra Anson [--None--]

My 12 year old child, Niko, is amazing, and a straight A student in middle school. Niko loves science, reading, and art; has been on swim and archery teams, and has been playing piano since the age of 5.Niko is transgender. This bill dehumanizes my child; from the moment I held my baby, I knew I would love them. Love every bit of them and fight for them if anyone stood in their way of reaching their full potential. People supporting this bill are acting out of cruelty and ignorance, and perpetuating systems of hate and prejudice that now target my child. Im writing to urge you to stop the legislation.Niko told me recently they want to become an author when they grow up and write books that will provide support for other youth who feel like they dont fit in. I have full faith Niko can and will tell their story, and that of other LGBT youth who have been marginalized. Niko will also be a registered voter in 6 years.Stop this legislation now. It is counter to every way I was raised and counter to everything good I believe it is to be a citizen of this state.

02-10-2021

Jessica Wells []

I am commenting to state that I absolutely oppose this bill. Anyone who votes in favor of this is either seriously misinformed or a bigot and neither of those is acceptable when you're in a position of power and responsible for legislative changes. The message we are sending to our children by even entertaining bills like this is that it is not okay to be yourself. Restrooms are a basic human rightespecially in public schools and children should be allowed to use the restroom of the gender they identify with. The very idea that this bill would possibly be enforced is a violation of a child's privacy. It is disturbing that the idea for this bill even exists and those in favor of it should be ashamed. Just because someone else's life experience is different from your own doesn't make it wrong. There is absolutely no reason to pass this bill. Do the right thing Iowa!

02-10-2021

Shoshanna Hemley []

This bill is not only disgustingly transphobic, but it is a clear violation of a citizens privacy. The choice of where someone goes to the bathroom is not the decision of the government. This is an over reach in power and the government shouldnt be controlling the private lives of its citizens. This is an awful bill and I hope that the sponsors of this bill know that the citizens of Iowa are disappointed and ashamed.

02-10-2021

Chris Anderson []

Why are there 12 bills that make such a concern with what's in children's pants? I thought you guys said all the pedophiles were in a secret door in a pizza shop or somethingnot the Iowa State Legislature.

02-10-2021

Evelyn Bergus []

Not only is this bill disrespectful and dismissive of youth, but it is not actively helping anyone. Who is this made to help? Is it written so transphobic teens can feel more comfortable? This bill could make school an unsafe place for trans youth and that is harmful. School needs to be a place where students are respected and listened to and validated. This bill would make children feel uncomfortable and unable to be themselves. It is harmful and truly just mean.

02-10-2021

Jeorgia Robison []

As a transgender woman, I am offended. It assumes I am evil on account of the way which God made me. It is wrong, unconstitutional, and must not be approved by your committee.The proposed legislation represents an ignorant reaction to a nonexistent problem. In fact there has been no problems associated with a transgender person using a restroom. There have been utterly no incidents in which a transgender person has caused trouble by using a restroom. There is no problem to solve. Move on to something important.What we are really talking about is validating the discomfort of people who are not familiar with the transgender experience. They should open their eyes, and consider the facts. This validation is not worthy of legislative sanction. If their discomfort is difficult, it pales in comparison to what transgender people have experienced. The people who are not comfortable can find their own single user restroom.Please, stop making me experience fear when I have to relieve myself. Trans folk have been around forever, and will continue to exist, whether or not, this legislation is adopted. The question is whether our society will reap the benefits provided by fuller transgender lives, or if those lives will be consigned to the dustbin. The former is reasoned and open minded. The later is not only ignorant, but costly to our society as a whole. This unreasonable discrimination carries a cost that can be avoided. This legislation should be in the dustbin. I refuse to live there.

02-10-2021

Elizabeth Kibby []

I am a cis heterosexual female who in no way, shape, or form supports this bill. Who are you to police people's gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation. Trans rights must not be infringed upon. If an individual transitions from male to female (no matter the age), their sex is female and they are welcome in female spaces (including the bathroom). The same is true for individuals who transition from female to male or are non binary. Passing this bill would be a step in the wrong direction.

02-10-2021

Aaron Thien []

This should not be passed, and transgender people should be able to go about their daily lives with a sense of security in their own identity. Bills like these are discriminatory and do not actually keep anyone safe.

02-10-2021

Ashley Wyman []

Trans rights are human rights. Youth need a place to use the bathroom where they feel most comfortable and safe. How about legislating the importance of more gender neutral/single stall bathroom options instead.

02-10-2021

Kalee Kerper []

SUPPORT TRANS PEOPLE! You cannot run on a platform representing the people, and then actively (repeatedly) try to cause them harm. This promotes an agenda of hate and discrimination and as you can see in these public comments, we will not stand for it. Trans people deserve to exist fully, safely, and without fear.

02-10-2021

Alison Kanne []

I would think our politicians would have better things to do, like manage staggering unemployment rates and failing small businesses. Instead, they waste their time and our tax dollars attempting to pass bills based purely on hate. You really think women will be more comfortable with a transgender man using their bathroom rather than the men's bathroom? Or that a transgender woman should be made to go to the bathroom next to men? The suicide rates among the transgendered are staggering, and it's bills like this that contribute to those suicide rates. What a fabulous way to let valuable members of our population know that we think they are less than we are. The logic doesn't follow. This is an embarrassment to Iowa. The bill should not be passed.

02-10-2021

Cassandra Monroe []

Why are you bringing up discriminatory bills during A PANDEMIC? There are more important and less hateful things to be worried about right now. Shameful. Iowa is still stuck in the 1800s. People wonder why this is a flyover state. Trans people and trans rights matter!

02-10-2021

Molly Johnson []

Transgender people of all ages deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. They must be allowed to freely express their identity. I cant believe time is being spent on such blatant discriminatory bills such as this. Iowa continues to move backwards when it comes to human rights. This bill cannot pass.

02-10-2021

Leigh Brown [Title*]

I stand as an ally with our Transgender community in Iowa, and particularly trans students in our school system. This bill is ignorant, discriminatory and cruel. It reflects a lack of empathy, as well as a lack of concern or interest about Iowans who do not fit into the narrow experience of its sponsors and supporters. Finally, with the enormous challenges Iowans are facing as a result of the pandemic, the derecho, and the resulting economic wake, for our lawmakers to be focused on pushing forward utterly unnecessary legislation such as this is unconscionable. I do not use this term lightly. People are suffering and dying unnecessarily. Please refocus your time and efforts accordingly. Rev. Leigh Brown

02-10-2021

Marshall Weeks []

If a state mask mandate is unenforceable, then surely this bill is as well. Does the state plan to hire bathroom police to inspect children and ensure they are using the appropriate bathroom? Stop wasting time on discriminatory nonsense.

02-10-2021

Siena Brown [ICCSD Committee Of Change ]

Bill SF 224 is discriminatory and cruel. Transgender peoples should have the ability to be who they want to be, with the safety of knowing that people will not be judging them for who they are. This bill does just that. oppose this bill so that transgender youth can feel that the school districts and people around them except them for themselves.

02-10-2021

Sonya Ewert []

The heart of this bill is unacceptable discrimination against trans youth and sets up yet another barrier for their acceptance into society. As a queer young professional who hopes to raise a family someday, bills like this make me question if Iowa is the best place to live longterm and raise a family.In practice this bill is very confusing Are emergency personnel of other biological sexes allowed to enter the bathroom in responding to an incident? What about janitors? Which restroom does a biologically intersex person use?

02-10-2021

bw kelly []

" History is something you look back at and say it was inevitable, it happens because people make decisions that are sometimes impulsive and of the moment, but those moments are cumulative realties"From the documentary Pay it no Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P JohnsonAs the Iowa Legislatures continue to write bills in this "new Iowa" please reflect on who are the bills designed to protect? Iowa at one time was progressive and forward thinking in its humanity.The bills written into law will one day reflect upon an Iowa lost behind the times scrabbling to recruit professionals to make Iowa its home. Only to find its population dwindling because this "new Iowa" is only for its chosen few who meet the piety standard a few legislatures has ordained!Please read some world history books before you all move forward on this bill.

02-10-2021

Andrew Grutzmacher []

This bill, and the several similar bills recently introduced, are cruel, disgusting, and not worthy of one more second of our consideration. I believe it is this subcommittee's duty to stop this bill immediately. Trans people have the same right to exist as the rest of us and trans children deserve our protection, not our revulsion and bigotry. There is absolutely no evidence of harm in allowing students to choose the bathroom they wish to use, and there is significant evidence of the harm that comes from forcing gendernonconforming people into situations in which they will obviously fall victim to prejudice. I wish this legislature would spend half as much time trying to help us Iowans out, as it spent trying to stomp down on our most vulnerable citizens. Jim Carlin should be ashamed of himself, and I hope that hearing comments like mine lead him to genuine reflection on his life and values.

02-10-2021

Theo Young []

The gop is supposed to be the party of small government, yet youre legislating laws about where and who can take a dump. I have two words to describe how I feel who cares? Why is this important at all? This legislation does nothing to actually prevent sexual assaults, because newsflash but assaulting people on bathrooms is already illegal, and banning trans people from their correct bathrooms does nothing but harm them, the rate of assaults in bathrooms is tiny, but the assaults that do happen every year, are mostly composed with trans people as the victims, and putting them in spaces they dont belong will do nothing but harm them. Do not pass this bill.

02-10-2021

Jeremy Witt []

It's outrageous and disgusting that our elected lawmakers are taking the time and resources to introduce hateful legislation when our state has so many more immediate issues to resolve. Legislating hate and discrimination are embarrassing for Iowa.

02-10-2021

W Q []

Enacting rules that are associated with someone's biological needs is extremely primitive and discriminatory. Transgender individuals in most cases appear as the sex they identify with and requiring a transman to use a little girls restroom is quite absurd. As is expecting a transwoman to use a male restroom. How would you feel if a grown cisappearing man were to walk into your child's female bathroom, merely because a law said they can't use the bathroom they identify with. Pretty disgusting if you ask me. So I'd recommend you use your the few brain cells you have to not enact homophobic, xenophobic, racist, and bigoted legislation. Because we will not be having 'separate but equal' bathrooms in 2021 for transgender individuals. If your legislature passes just imagine your female child's restroom filled with all old creepy men that used to identify as woman. All because YOU thought it was a good idea to make it legal for TranMen to use Woman's bathrooms. Absolutely perverted!!!

02-10-2021

Dorothy Oberfoell []

Trans people belong in every space and should be supported, celebrated, and encouraged to live as they are. This proposed bill is a repeated attempt to endanger and harm trans people in our communities, especially trans youth.

02-10-2021

Erin Opar []

It is as though you lawmakers believe orgies are happening in bathrooms when you introduce harmful bills like this. There are private stalls, and people, especially children, only go to the bathroom because they need to use the bathroom. RBG did not leave behind a lifelong legacy for you to discriminate against children based on their gender. Be proud that we live in a kinder world today than when we were growing up, where children feel comfortable being who they are. They deserve the validation of using the bathroom with which they associate themselves. If you pass this law, you will only be reaffirming the harmful body dysphoria that many trans people go through, and will most likely see a rise in suicidal thoughts and actions among the young trans youth you were elected to protect. You work for the PEOPLE, not for your own personal gross bias. Please remember that.

02-10-2021

M T []

As a cisgender woman, I have no problem with sharing a bathroom with any other gender. As an educator, this bill is harmful to youth and continues to perpetuate trauma during a formative time in their adolescence. I will always oppose any bill that seeks to strip human rights away from our citizens. Also, stop being gross and weird and focusing on children's genitals. Your obsession is creepy.

02-10-2021

Serina Lawson []

As a transgender young man, I find this bill to be highly offensive. I have been out as transgender since the 7th grade and am now a Junior in high school. I live in an all male group home called Youth Homes of MidAmerica. If you where to pass this bill I would have no where to go anymore. I'm a Ward of the State, DHS is fighting to keep me safe and putting this bill into place would also make it so I would be required to move into a Female Facility. I'm terrified of this possibly happening. Please don't pass this bill. Let me live my life as a proud young man. I'm begging for you to allow my safety and take into your mind that fact a boy may die if this is passed.

02-10-2021

Kenneth Hanson []

Please oppose this bill. It is a further attempt to marginalize trans people. Let transgender people use the restroom of their choice. This bill is nothing but bigotry and will further the discrimination and teach other youth that it is ok to discriminate against people who are different.

02-10-2021

Tiffany Junge []

The fact that anti transgender and bathroom rights are even being discussed shows how archaic and out of touch with childrens safety our political system really is. According to a study on the US National Institute of Healths National Library, The suicide attempt rate among transgender persons range from 32% to 50% across countries. Gender based victimization, discrimination, bullying, violence, BEING REJECTED BY family, friends and COMMUNITY; harassment by intimate partner, family members, POLICE AND PUBLIC; discrimination and Ill treatment at healthcare system are the major risk factors that influence the suicidal behavior among transgender persons.So let me ask you, do you want the blood of young transgender people on your hands? This bathroom bill will cause more hate and discrimination to fester among your communities and has ABSOLUTELY NO PLACE among the smart, educated, enthusiastic children we create our future for.

02-10-2021

Alex Plagge []

I have got to hand it to our Republican legislators. No one is as adept as them at conjuring up boogeymen in their own heads so they can broadcast their malice and cruelty.I know making life as difficult and humiliating as possible for anyone who isnt a cis, straight, white Christian is a lot of work, but there are in fact *real* issues that the people of Iowa are facing. Perhaps we could work on addressing those instead?

02-10-2021

Casey DeSousa []

The distaste I have for these laws is immense. Studies have shown increases in suicide rates attributed to anti transgender laws, and increases in hate crimes. Through these bills, Iowa will see a very dark time, filled with hate and death; is this the outcome you wish for by proposing these bills? What harm is being caused by allowing the basic rights of humanity to all citizens of our state? What is it that scares you about your peers who choose differently than you, lawmakers? We will never move forward if we remain unmoved, in fear of each other. We cannot pass any of these bills, and I stand by my friends and neighbors as an ally.

02-10-2021

Audrey Espersen []

The GOP claims to value liberty and individual freedom, yet out of ignorance and hatefulness they are prepared to completely dispose of these values in order to legislate bigotry, to write discrimination into law, to target the individual liberties of trans youth. Is this what Iowa is? A place where we decide your value based on parts of your identity that you cannot choose? Does our "Iowa nice" only extend to people whose identities cannot be weaponized into political pawns? Do we really have nothing better to do than write laws about which bathrooms kids can use? SF 224 is designed to exclude certain youth from feeling safe and welcome in a place of learning. It is not founded in science, morality, equity, or good faith. It pains and sickens me as an Iowan to see where my state's priorities are.

02-10-2021

Sam Pate []

Im going to be moving to Iowa in July to start medical school and Im disgusted by the business the subcommittee members believe to be theirs. This is purely motivated by transphobic and bigoted views and should not be allowed to be passed. This does not give me hope for the state I am going be living in soon.

02-10-2021

Colin Day []

I oppose this bill because it's just an attempt by legislators to try to gin up fear against a small minority group and avoid doing their actual jobs of representing Iowans who need help in this difficult time. I have never even heard of any sexual predators crossdressing in order to gain access to a bathroom. If the Legislators want to do something about sexual predators they should do something about people abusing positions of trust as coaches, priests, police officers and other people who have power over others, that is where the real sexual predators hide, not the bathroom.

02-10-2021

Jordan Voigt []

This bill is an embarrassment and the legislators who are pushing this through should be ashamed of themselves. The pandemic is raging. People are hurting. People cant afford to feed their families. There is so much other work to be done, and this is how you are spending your time? Pushing policies that will only hurt kids and in turn, hurt Iowa families. The brain drain from Iowa is real, and passing Draconian legislation to needlessly and cruelly punish our trans youth is only going to make kids want to leave this state more. Let them live, let them be themselves. Let them use the bathroom that makes sense.

02-10-2021

Edna Becht DO []

As a family practice physician, I am happy to educate members of this committee on the science behind transgender minors. We know this is a marginalized group subject to discrimination and violence from peers, and this discrimination is systemic as well (as evidenced by this bill and others). We know biological sex is not binary. We know gender is a social construct which therefore exists outside of the legislative purview. These children know who they are, and we have established that schools are to be accessible to all students, including this group of future Iowa citizens.I would think there are more pressing issues that need this committee's attention right now, including the economy and pandemic response.

02-10-2021

Chris Walterbach []

This bill is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Please think of the consequences of this bill as it was economically devastating to North Carolina when they tried the same thing. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/northcarolinatransgenderbathrooms.html"The law drew nationwide outrage and unleashed severe economic consequences for North Carolina. Companies like PayPal canceled planned expansions in the state and the N.B.A. and N.C.A.A. moved events elsewhere. Facing the loss of billions of dollars, the state passed a law in 2017 that repealed House Bill 2, but maintained the state governments control over transgender bathroom access and halted local antidiscrimination rules until the end of 2020."Please do not waste our legislature's time with this harmful bill and get on with helping those affected by the COVID19 pandemic.

02-10-2021

Kat Schlorff []

This bill is a bigoted attempt to dehumanize trans people, and would sacrifice the mental health and wellbeing of trans kids to do so. It's frankly disgusting and immoral to be more committed to hurting trans kids than to their happiness. What's more, this bill is likely unenforceable are we planning on having bathroom inspectors to check everyone's pants? It's cruelty for cruelty's sake.

02-10-2021

Tamra Voigt []

I remember when Iowa stood for excellence in education. I remember when Iowa was known for accepting our neighbors. I remember when Iowa was known as a great place to raise our children. This is not the Iowa I remember, and I can't in good conciousness encourage my children to ever move back here.

02-10-2021

Erik Billeci []

This bill is bigoted and discriminatory. Transgender people are human and should not only have the right, but the dignity to use their preferred restroom. The proposed legislation is cruel in singling out an already marginalized group and denying them a basic human necessity.Trans rights are human rights.

02-10-2021

Melissa Hostetler []

This bill, and the rest of the antitrans legislation being considered by this committee is going to kill children. There have been no recorded assaults of cis people by trans people in Iowa while using the restroom. However, just a few years ago, a gender nonconforming teen was brutally attacked and murdered in Burlington Iowa. In Fairfield, another trans child committed suicide. Trans people remain one of the most at risk groups for sexual violence and suicide. The rate of violence and risk of suicide towards trans women of color is even more disparate.The education committee should not be creating statewide policy for something that should be left up to local discretion. In addition, what bathrooms will this bill be providing for people who are born biologically intersex? Will they simply not be allowed to use the restroom at school? Or will you be considering an amendment to fund restroom expansions in every Iowa school for every biological sex? Does the state plan to fund lawsuits that challenge this bill under the new precedent protecting gender identity under the ADA? This law will create yet another potential liability that the state will have to defend with taxpayer dollars. As an Iowan, a taxpayer, and someone who has basic empathy and critical thinking skills, I vehemently oppose this bill.

02-10-2021

Faith Dickey []

The only inappropriate thing occurring is a group of politicians attempting to decide what children do with their bodies and caring so much which toilets they use that they would use their positions of power to attempt to pass laws regarding such things. Stop thinking about kids and their bodies and which toilets they use! Let them be! Its creepy to focus so much attention on it! If you care about forcing children to use a certain toilet of your choosing youre being creepy! Children and their toilet preferences should not be the focus of your energy and thoughts! Its just weird! And what, youll have a guard in front of the toilet to check birth certificates to make sure these children line up biologically with the image on the door?! NO! Because thats weird! And crazy!And for the love of god TRANS CHILDREN ARE CHILDREN! So, let them be who they are. Jesus would.

02-10-2021

Michael Roberts []

I oppose this measure. This is more asinine culture war nonsense from the GOP, during a pandemic. Stop endangering marginalized groups like trans people and do something constructive to help the citizens of Iowa.

02-10-2021

Fareeha Ahmad []

People should have the right to be who they are without feeling unsafe. This bill would prevent transgender students from feeling acknowledged, heard, and safe. School is supposed to be a welcoming place where students are able to learn not somewhere where students feel as though their identity is being questioned.

02-10-2021

Dominic Gray []

Another day in Iowa, vilifying people and things we don't understand. Don't put any of this under the guise of "normality" or "tradition" when it's just another notch in Iowa's legislative belt of bigoted law making. Stop infringing the rights of others just because you won't take the time to understand what it's like to be somebody else and stop writing laws to explicitly target individuals and communities who already have it hard enough.

02-10-2021

Colton Bachman []

You should be trying to give people more rights, not take them away. This also prevents nontrans people from entering the bathrooms where their child may need their help. How about we fix our vaccine distribution before voting on junk like this.

02-10-2021

Antonia Sicilia []

This bill is a thinlyveiled attempt by our legislator to perpetuate antitrans sentiment and stick the government where it does not belong.Perhaps if Iowa leaders focused on more pressing matters than where a child goes to the restroom, we wouldn't be at the very bottom of the country's COVID response.

02-10-2021

Ryan Walker []

This bill puts transgender children at risk with no upside to this bill unless your goal is to spread hate and discriminate against an already marginalized community. It is a cruel bill that does nothing to make Iowa better or safer.

02-10-2021

Emily Hill []

Having been to college campuses where all gender restrooms are used in nearly every building, I can confidently say that all gender restrooms are the most beneficial option for students of any gender identity. Completely putting aside the blatant transphobia presented in this bill, there is no reason as to why students should not be allowed to use the restrooms of the gender that they identify.

02-10-2021

C H []

This is bullying. It is ignorance. It is hindering what could otherwise be an opportunity for open conversations and learning instead of forcing children to feel like they need to hide or be ashamed. It is creating an atmosphere where marginalization and exclusion are "okay". I strongly disagree with this bill.

02-10-2021

Jacob Stoffer []

You are discriminating against a group of people for no reason other than their gender identity. They are HUMANS not pedophiles. Instead of illegally discriminating against these Iowans, why don't you support us during the ongoing pandemic?

02-10-2021

Catherine Baruth []

When you have to introduce a bill with the statement that "It is not unfair or discriminatory practice to", it means it is inherently unfair or discriminatory. This bill is founded in and feeds the fear of the "other", the person who is not like me. If passed, transgender kids will end up forced to use restrooms with the gender they do not identify within essence, you are pushing them into restrooms with the wrong gender! In the worst case, schools will designate specific restrooms for transgender kidssegregation is back! Forcing them to use other facilities is no different than the days of "white" and "colored" water fountains. This legislation had no business even being filed, let along debated. Transgender kids and people are here to stay; they have the same rights and obligations as everyone else; stop trying so hard to make them second class citizens.I suspect this stems from the ongoing disinformation campaign that being transgender is a choice. Gender identity is resident in the brain, and the last I checked that was part of a person's biology. This bill actually creates the very situation that the author seems to fear by forcing kids to use the restroom of their opposite gender, to say nothing of those that are nonbinary. etc.

02-10-2021

Elizabeth Ekanger []

This is a hate filled bill. Hate has no place in our schools. Children should feel safe at school and part of that safety is a base acceptance of self. This is far, far over reaching into individual's private lives. I'm disgusted that politians would use their power to sow hate and division under the guise of "safety". Safety for who? Trans people are far more likely to to be assaulted than cis people and this bill increases those odds further still. When did Iowa get so cruel? I thought the Midwest was supposed to be full of nice people. The fact that this bill even exists makes me ill. Do better.

02-10-2021

Connor Finholt []

It is disappointing that we are still having to speak out against bills like these. Trans rights are human rights, and trans kids know better than anyone what their gender is. Policing that, like this bill would do, only serves to cause psychological damage to a group already at increased risk of discrimination and bullying.

02-10-2021

Alexander Burg []

There is no human right to use the restroom of the opposite sex. Biological males are statistcally more violent and prone to sex crimes than biological females, regardless of hormone therapy. To put a male in a private female space is to put a fox in a chicken coop. This bill must be passed to set the precedent that the majority should not be made to unduly suffer for the sake of a few individuals with a mental illness. Once again, there is no human right to use the restroom of the opposite sex.It also goes without saying that this issue is the thin end of the progressive wedge. Should this bill fail Iowa will surely soon be overrun by all sorts of progressive lunacy. The vocal progressives in Des Moines, Iowa City, et cetera, are the minority in this state. The majority here do not want the great state of Iowa to kowtow to left, and nevermind one of its most nonsensical aspects.

02-10-2021

Nik Wasik []

It's ironic that the party of small government is spearheading the discussion of putting the government into children's bathrooms. This is a simplistic bill, with dated and ignorant opinions about what is going on inside of schools in 2021. Please do not allow this bill to come to the floor.

02-10-2021

Thomas Stevens []

I do not support SF 224, it should not be passed. I do not understand the need for this bill. This bill acts on the assumption that trans people using the bathroom are somehow a threat to cisgendered individuals. I just graduated from high school last spring and never experienced, let alone heard of, the trans students in our building and district assaulting cis students. If a trans man using a men's bathroom makes cis men uncomfortable, he will also make cis women uncomfortable if he uses the women's restroom. This bill does nothing to promote the safety or comfort of cis students. This bill will make school a dangerous environment for trans students.This bill completely ignores the existence of intersex students in Iowa (students whose combination of genes, hormones, and internal/external organs cannot be identified biologically as male or female). Acting as if sex is on a binary is harmful and biologically incorrect. If the goal of this bill is to make students more comfortable in school bathrooms, we need more gender inclusive bathrooms not less.

02-10-2021

David Depew []

As a mental health provider, I've seen transgender clients, who are afforded gender affirming healthcare and treatment, go on to increase their productivity, contributions, and happiness. Clients who are denied gender affirming treatment suffer with, but not limited to, increased depression and anxiety.

02-10-2021

John Menninger [retired biologist]

As you consider the abovereferenced bill, you might want take account of the 1% of live births with ambiguous genetalia. At the frequency of red hair in the population, these babies present with organs that don't fall into the simple categories of "boy" or "girl." Check out the links below:https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/whatdoesintersexlooklikehttps://www.todaysparent.com/baby/babyhealth/intersexwhenababyisntquiteboyorgirl/Onesizefitsallschool bathroom policy embodies assumptions that can't be justified in reality. You can do better. Please try. John Menninger

02-10-2021

Shea Daniels []

I understand that those who brought this bill forward believe that it protects our children and brings credit to our great State of Iowa. Unfortunately it is misguided in both of those aims and is counter to our existing laws that protect gender identity.Studies and collected data have both proven out that transgender access to bathrooms does not increase incidents of assault on women. On the contrary, transgender and nonbinary individuals are more likely to be victims of bullying and assault. Transgenders kids are, if you remove the label, just kids. They are members of families and beloved by their parents, friends, and relatives. They are equally worth of our protection. There is no excuse for creating a state law that enables their abuse instead of protecting them.Not only that, but this is a regressive policy for our state in terms of growing our community and economy. The State Legislature and Governor both aim to create an environment that is friendly for businesses, families, and hardworking Iowans. Businesses oppose this type of legislation because they know that educated, passionate families don't want to live in states with these types of policies. They know that customers don't want to shop at companies that support these policies. Bathroom bills have even been opposed by the NCAA and other major organizations for these reasons, among many others.I am a professional software engineer with 13 years of experience. I lead a team of 5 other engineers in Iowa's startup community. I have always been proud of our state being ahead of the curve on equality and I've evangelized that pride to many others. Iowa has a long history of knowing the right thing to do and acting on it before it becomes popular. We are leaving that legacy behind. How long can I continue to live in a state that does not want me and my talents here? I know many other successful professionals and other hardworking folks who are thinking of leaving if our state continues down the path to this dark place.Iowa can not afford to pass legislation such as this.

02-10-2021

Chuck Hurley [The FAMiLY Leader]

We support the bill, in part because allowing males into female spaces invades female privacy, and has caused irreparable harm to some school children. Here's one example:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv8GT8m7EDQAnd

02-10-2021

Andrew Boge []

This bill is a blatant discriminatory attack on trans students in the state of Iowa. There is no reason for state oversight regarding what bathroom facilities trans students decide to use and is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Given the epidemic of violence and bullying against trans peoples, particularly trans people of color, creating additional hostilities in schools sends a clear message from our state legislatures that they only care about certain students. Trans students deserve to make a decision about what bathroom they want to use, that is not for the state to decide. I strongly protest this legislation and believe that it should be removed from consideration.

02-10-2021

Mara Lucien []

Why does the party that touts "freedom" spend so much time concerning itself with limiting the freedoms and rights of trans people, and in particular trans children? Leave the kids alone! We already have laws on the books to address ACTUAL situations of harassment, abuse, etc. How about you enforce those laws and protect kids from REAL perpetrators (which, statistically, is MUCH more likely to be a family member or adult authority figure than another kid, much less a trans kid)? This proposed law would harm children, not protect them.

02-10-2021

Loan Nguyen []

Children who are gender questioning and transidentifying are harmed by this bill. Our concern as adults should lie in whether we are supporting or invalidating the experiences of young children and young adults. Transgender individuals, whether young or old, are statistically more likely to experience trauma that negatively affects their growth, processes, and mortality. Legislation that discriminates based on gender identity only furthers the difficult life experiences trans students already face, exacerbating an already bloated statistic of youth suicide and mental illness. The underlying implications of this bill assumes transgender students as predatory, when in fact they are most likely to be victim of attacks and harm. However, simply put: students, transgender or not, want to use the facilities in peace and privacy, with the dignity afforded to any individual.

02-10-2021

Benjamin Sweet []

This bill serves to benefit no one. It harms a silent minority who need the protection of government against the tyranny of a majority. I can not vote for a representative who supports this oppressive bill.

02-10-2021

Brittany Bailey []

I hope you will reject this bill. It's not only discriminatory to a minority population (estimates put transgender individuals to about 0.3% of the population) but also wildly inaccurate. I urge you to align with the medical community on the differences between biological sex and gender identity. The are not the same. We need to listen to medical experts that they are not the same thing and shouldn't be treated as such.I'd like to remind the legislature that North Carolina passed a bathroom bill three years ago and they let it expire this year. This is because businesses fled or refused to do business with the state after it was enacted.

02-10-2021

Stephanie Anderson []

I oppose this bill. This legislation was created out of ignorance to further fan the flames of a moral panic that was created in bad faith. It only exists to be cruel and to take away the rights of those who are already marginalized. This bill will only cause harm.

02-10-2021

LA Hennings []

Personally, I would expect that if all bathrooms and locker rooms were made mixedsex, sexual assault in these spaces would undoubtedly rise but still remain a relatively rare occurrence in absolute terms. But leering, peeping, flashing, taking creepshots, placement of spycams, making lewd comments, "accidental" or "friendly" touching . . . these would skyrocket.It annoys me that women have to come up with reasons men should not be able to self ID into our spaces. Howz about the TRAs need to show us stats on all the trans women harmed when using the mens room?Target did their own study here : Its titled: Sexual Violence Reports in Target Spike After Transgender Bathroom Policy: StudyDisclaimer : this article links to a Christian site BUT they do reference the study target did themselves which has no religious affiliation. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.christianpost.com/amp/sexualviolencereportstargetstoresspiketransgenderbathroompolicystudy.html

02-10-2021

Dorothea Jurgenson []

These legislators ought to be ashamed of themselves! The only purpose of this bill is to try to shoehorn people into the conventional role/gender you approve. Its effect will be to humiliate and emotionally scar transgender youth. Perhaps you could work on things that actually benefit ordinary Iowans instead of making a moral issue out of a biological one.

02-10-2021

Kellee Wasik []

From the Republican Party of Iowa Platform "We believe that parents are responsible for their children, and we support the rights of parents to be the ultimate authority for the discipline, protection, and education of their children."This spirit of this section strongly states that children and their parents, NOT school administrators or GOVERNMENTS have the authority to intervene so drastically in the education of a child. It rejects the notion that the government has the ability to discipline trans children by denying them access to the bathroom that fits their identity, and denies parents their right to protect and advocate for their child. This bill is enormously hypocritical from the party should be advocating for less government intervention in our lives, and is a massive overstep of the Iowa legislature.

02-10-2021

Whitney Smith McIntosh []

As a parent of three public school graduates, I fully support this bill. As a female who used school bathrooms when she was in school, I fully support this bill. When I was in school the girl's bathroom was a place of safety. We could go in there and chat with the other girls without boys or teachers around, we would trade makeup secrets and give each other tampons or sanitary napkins when we had an unscheduled visitor we were not prepared for. If a boy walked into the girls' restroom, on a dare of confusion or rebellion, all sorts of chaos ensued, resulting in the boy being removed and "talked to". While I realize times have changed and now students are expressing their confusion with gender roles the science of sex never changes. The need for privacy for both girls and boys never changes. In the state of Iowa schoolage children, 4 to 17, have not had gender reassignment surgery and therefore the physical body has been altered therefore not requiring a genderconfused person to use any restroom other than the one designed for their physical needs. If genderconfused people feel their safety is at risk in the bathroom of their sex then we could provide reasonable accommodation and supply them with a one stall private bathroom.

02-10-2021

Gianfranco Berardi [Gianfranco Berardi]

As the parent of a transgender daughter, I already worry about her safety on a daily basis. This law would increase that worry.There is no benefit to passing this law, and I see nothing but downsides. It's not based in science, and it is not based on safety. Transgender people already face discrimination, and this law will make it more dangerous for them to merely exist. Iowa is overreaching into local school policies and relationships with their students for no good reason I can see.It is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars since there are already bills that are similar in other states that have already been struck down as unconstitutional.

02-10-2021

DJ Jeffries []

Its not about safety, is about transgressing and eliminating womens boundaries!No one is obligated to "validate" another person women definitely should Not be mandated to do so.Women are not meat shields to protect one subset of males from another There's a reason for sex segregated spaces. Some males are creeps. common sense and human history, duhDon't try to force school girls into being strippers for horny school boys. Don't cater to male fetishes by erasing girls dignity and privacy. What do you remember from going through puberty at school? Guys wanted to see naked girls, right? Girls were embarrassed, insecure. Smuggling tampons, washing out embarrassing stainsDon't let males of any make into girls spaces. Even one male makes it a male space, no longer a female space90% of transgender id males keep their male genitals. Let girls have space away from penile erectionsWhat about the girls feelings? 50% of population versus 1.5% female identified males. What about the girls!

02-10-2021

Justin Young [Justin Young]

I find that the total lack of empathy for transpeople should not be funded by tax payer dollars. Go back to the 1960's and look at how we view segregated water fountains that is how this bill will look in the very near future and I for one do not wish to be associated with a state that would do something so blatantly transphobic. This is a ridiculous bill to be taking up space on the docket and should it come to pass if will be another checkmark on the list for why Iowa can not attract larger businesses and younger individuals to live here.

02-09-2021

Jack (Tirza) Overholt []

As a transgender boy, this law would make females in the bathroom very uncomfortable with someone who identifies as a guy. Why should grownups determine what I do with my body? No being transgender isn't a phase, no it won't go away when I'm older, this is who I am and no one gets to decide what that means besides me.

02-09-2021

C.E. DeWit []

You must show support for transgender Iowans, LIKE ME, and for transgender children, who will absolutely NOT grow out of being transgender and deserve your support and care. This bill is NOT supported by science or social evidence, and if you pass it you will be doing irreparable harm not only to Iowas transgender youth population but also to your own credibility and trustworthiness. Your constituents will know that you do not show care for people who might not be like you, and you do not trust them to know their own minds, hearts, and needs.I urge you to use reason, to trust science, and have compassion for transgender children, who will be deeply psychologically harmed if they dont have access to genderaffirming care and facilities (which has been demonstrated by scientific studies). Open your minds and hearts, and do the right thing.

02-09-2021

Chelsea Sims []

As an educator, I can tell you from personal experience how much harm this bill would cause our young people. Our students come to school to learn and should feel safe and affirmed when they are with us. Having others attempt to police their humanity based on ignorant and transphobic ideas would be cruel, disruptive, and untenable. Will someone be guarding the bathroom doors to check birth certificates for biological sex? Or do you intend to ask educators to rely on students to out their classmates to some disciplinary figure? This bill is ridiculous and spiteful and based on imagined dangers. Oppose, and maybe educate those who wrote this bill on being an empathetic human.

02-09-2021

Amal Eltayib [ICCSD Commitee of Change]

This bill is a disruption of a person's freedom, to choose their own identity without the burden of adults determining such for them. This should not be passed, and transgender people should be able to go about their daily lives with a sense of security in their own identity.

02-09-2021

Kassie McLaughlin []

This bill is one of many currently discriminating against our transgender community. Our time and resources are better spent educating support of all Iowans and making sure that the needs of trans folks are met rather than targeting them with ignorant aggressive bills that make their lives difficult or impossible. Build up our communities with resources rather than tear them apart with legislation designed to divide us further.

02-09-2021

E Cram []

Look at the evidence: bills legislating access to the bathroom are part of a long history of determining who can access public space. This bill would deny equal access to education for transgender and gender nonconforming students. Why is that? Bathroom access is necessary to occupy a space over the school day. The inability to use a bathroom at school creates the potential for serious physical health issues. Bathroom access also greatly affects mental health. There is NO evidence that allowing trans youth to use bathrooms creates harm for nontrans students. The evidence DOES suggest that trans people (students in this case) are more likely to be bullied, harassed, or targeted if they are forced to use a bathroom that does not correspond to their gender identity.

02-09-2021

Leslie Schwalm [University of Iowa Department of Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies]

This is a cruel bill, one that arises out of absolute ignorance of the experience of trans students in our schools. Like all humans, they need access to bathroom facilities. And like all humans, they need to be recognized for whom they really are. Denying them equitable access to the bathrooms that all school children enjoy is a direct rejection of their identity, an explicit act of discrimination, and an effort to police children's identities. The bill is a clear expression of transphobia, an irrational fear that trans adults generally are pathological and intent on attacking, harassing, or sexually exploiting people in bathrooms. In particular, is an attack on transwomen, and the misguided presumption that transwomen are really men who wish to use women's bathrooms as a site for exploitation of heterosexual women. I respectfully submit that Iowa state legislators speak with the parents of trans kids to learn about their journeys with their children, the incredible obstacles they face daily, and the role of school policies in worsening the lives and mental health of trans kids who simply wish to be recognized for who they are. Rather than pathologizing children, and oversexualizing them, you need to recognize them as children with bathroom needs. Furthermore, rejecting fair accommodations for trans youth has a direct impact on their mental health; studies reveal that encounters with discriminatory school policies increase the likelihood of suicidal ideation and behavior (see attached study). Please keep our schools safe for ALL our children.

Attachment

02-09-2021

Aiden Bettine []

I am writing today as a transgender man who is a proud Iowan and thankful to be alive after the bullying and harassment I faced as a youth due to my gender identity. I am here to stand up for the transgender and gender nonconforming youth who do not have a voice in your eyes, precisely because they do not yet have a vote. I should not have to make a public testimony with this much detail about my personal life, but the legislation being proposed regarding transgender people is not based upon the lived experience of transgender people nor the medical and academic expertise that proves bills like Senate File 224 cause harm and violence, protecting no one and infringing upon individual rights and freedoms. Ive attached scholarship and medical publications that support my argument with evidence and are written by professionals with more experience and knowledge than Senator Jim Carlin, an attorney and not a medical professional or scientist, will ever have when it comes to the health, safety, and wellbeing of transgender youth. Please read the attached document for my full statement and for supporting publications.

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02-09-2021

Katelyn Sabelko []

As a new Iowan, I am devastated by the disregard for students that this bill reflects. Trans students should be protected, cherished, respected, and celebrated. Allowing trans students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity is the least Iowa schools can do. Trans students are not a danger to their peers. Forcing them to use a bathroom that makes them uncomfortable is willfully inflicting trauma upon them. This is not an opinion; this has been proven by scholars.Please consider the findings from a recent scholarly article that concluded through their research that "feeling safe using school facilities helps to explain widespread inequalities between trans and cisgender students. Based on these results, we suggest that in order to address disparities in educational outcomes between trans and cisgender students, as well as to improve student wellbeing in general, policies and practices need to ensure that all students have the right to safely access bathrooms and school facilities" (Wernick, Kulick, & Chin, 2017).I will attach this article to my comment for your consideration.Wernick, L. J., Kulick, A., & Chin, M. (2017). Gender identity disparities in bathroom safety and wellbeing among high school students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(5), 917930. DOI:10.1007/s1096401706521

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