Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Ohio Federation of Teachers Call on Governor DeWine to Veto SB 104
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Today, Ohio Federation of Teachers President Melissa Cropper released the following statement about SB 104:
“Every child deserves a safe and welcoming learning environment. We have been dismayed in recent years as extremist legislators have pushed for laws that target, intimidate, and harass trans and non-binary students. They do so at the expense of actually solving the real problems that students and educators face.
Their latest attack on Ohio students, SB 104, would ban trans K-12 and college students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. SB 104 passed in the senate today without any opportunities for concerned Ohioans to testify.
Bills like this make our most vulnerable students less safe. According to the Trevor Project, 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Ohio considered suicide in 2022 alone. More disturbingly, a peer-reviewed study recently found that anti-transgender laws lead to even higher rates of suicide attempts for transgender and nonbinary youth. The actions that legislators take have profound effects in the real world and a growing body of data shows how dangerous bills like this are.
This bill has nothing to do with student safety and everything to do with political opportunism. There is no epidemic of student assaults in bathrooms and locker rooms. There is however an epidemic of gun violence in our schools and communities; firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens. Motor vehicle accidents are the second leading cause of death. These are real safety issues that need to be addressed.
As educators, library workers, and social work professionals, OFT members will continue to treat every child with whom we work with respect and dignity. We urge Governor DeWine to protect Ohio kids and veto this bill.”