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Senate panel rejects bathroom bill

Lobbyist Rodger Tellinghuisen, with the Human Rights Campaign, testifies before the Senate Judiciary committee Tuesday night.
Lee Strubinger
/
SDPB
Lobbyist Roger Tellinghuisen, with the Human Rights Campaign, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday night.

A Senate panel is rejecting a bill that prevents transgender students from using a bathroom they identify with.

The panel rejected the proposal 6-1.

The House Republican sponsor of the bill says it was brought in response to the Vermillion School Board’s transgender student bathroom policy.

The bill would create a private cause of action for individuals against school districts. It would require the state to represent schools and cover any legal fees.

A similar bill reached Governor Dennis Daugaard’s desk in 2016. He vetoed the bill after meeting with transgender students.

Lee Strubinger is SDPB’s Rapid City-based politics and public policy reporter. Lee is a two-time national Edward R. Murrow Award winning reporter. He holds a master’s in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
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