Schools facing effects of “Don’t Say Gay” bill

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
MARION COUNTY — An Alabama law prohibiting transgender K-12 students from using the bathroom which aligns with their gender identity, while also prohibiting discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation, is now law and will be up for vote as a new rule for schools in the state this week.
While the law came into effect in April of this year, The Alabama Board of Education voted whether or not to implement the new law as a rule for schools in the state.
The law requires students in Alabama K-12 schools to use the bathroom of their “biological sex,” with the rules of enforcement and implementation left to the schools without specific details in the bill on what a transgender student could face if they use a bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.