SAN ANTONIO – Senate Bill 8, also known as the “bathroom bill,” takes effect Thursday in Texas, preventing transgender people from using certain state-owned or public bathrooms that don’t match their sex assigned at birth.
The bill will apply to:
- County and city buildings
- Agency buildings, such as the Texas Department of Transportation
- Public schools and open-enrollment charter schools
- Public universities
The University of Texas at San Antonio is already making changes to comply.
KSAT received an email from a woman who said her daughter was being forced to change dorm rooms because she has a roommate who is the opposite sex.
That email said, in part:
“Earlier this year, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 8 (SB 8). This bill requires all state universities and agencies to designate multiple-occupancy private spaces for use only by people of the same biological sex. As a public institution, UT San Antonio must comply with this law and ensure that all shared restrooms meet state requirements.
Because of SB 8, we will reassign you to a new space to align with state requirements. The Housing and Residence Life team will work with you to coordinate a smooth transition, minimize any disruption, and ensure that your new assignment meets your needs and preferences as closely as possible."
UT San Antonio sophomore Katarina Rendon lives in a mixed-gender dorm, where some people live with students of the opposite sex. A shared bathroom separates Rendon’s dorm room from her male roommate’s room.
“I have never felt unsafe,” Rendon said. “My roommate does not feel unsafe.”
Still, Rendon said she and her mother had one day on Monday to pack up and move to a different wing of the Alvarez dorm to room with a female student.
Rendon said she was randomly assigned and did not get to choose her new roommate.
“I had actually chosen to be in mixed-gender housing because I felt more comfortable with people that aligned with me,” Rendon said.
She said she identifies with the LGBTQ+ community but is not transgender.
“They’re separating brothers and sisters. They’re separating couples,” Rendon said. “You choose to live with who you want to live with, and they’re taking that choice away.”
Rendon said she is worried for transgender students who are being forced to move dorm rooms.
“It’s just creating a dangerous environment,” Rendon said. “Like, you could have a transgender individual who rooms with their friend, and then all of a sudden, they’re moved with someone who has violent tendencies towards people like that.”
She, like many other Texans, is wondering how the law will be enforced.
“I don’t understand how you can police this to fully consenting adults,” Rendon said.
While the state’s enforcement instructions are not specific, there are penalties for organizations or universities that do not comply with the bill. A person cannot be penalized, but institutions can face sanctions.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office must give institutions with substantiated complaints another 15 days to rectify the violation. Any institution found liable for a violation is fined $25,000 for the first instance and $125,000 per day for every subsequent violation.
KSAT reached out to UT San Antonio on Monday afternoon to ask how many students are being asked to move.
The campus replied with the following statement:
“Texas Senate Bill 8 does not require students to move dorms. The law regulates access to multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities based on sex assigned at birth. UT San Antonio intends to fully comply with SB 8. At this time, thirty students are reorganizing their housing arrangements impacted by multi-occupancy restrooms, and the university is working with each of them individually to ensure a smooth transition.”
Requests were also sent to other local public colleges, asking if they are making any changes to comply with Senate Bill 8.
“As a community college, San Antonio College is a commuter campus with no residential halls,” a school spokesperson told KSAT.
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