Establishes immunity from civil liability for certain actions taken by private schools related to access to restrooms or changing areas
Summary
HB 1893 would add a new section to Missouri law allowing private schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12 to establish single-sex multiple-occupancy restrooms or changing areas for male or female use only. The bill defines “multiple-occupancy restroom or changing area” broadly to include restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, and shower rooms, and defines “sex” by reference to the sex listed on an individual’s original birth certificate.
The bill also creates exceptions allowing entry into an opposite-sex facility for custodial, maintenance, or inspection purposes, for emergency medical assistance, and for a parent or guardian accompanying a child age eight or younger with school permission. In addition, it bars political subdivisions from adopting ordinances, rules, or regulations that would prohibit a private school from making these designations, and requires a local government that violates that prohibition to pay the school’s attorney fees and costs.
HB 1893 would affect Chapter 160, RSMo, by adding section 160.231 and would give private schools a statutory basis to restrict restroom and changing-area access by sex. It would also limit local regulatory authority over these school policies and expose local governments to fee-shifting liability if they attempt to regulate contrary to the bill.
The available context suggests the bill was generally treated as a school privacy and safety measure, and its emergency clause indicates supporters viewed it as needing immediate effect so schools could prepare for the 2026-27 school year. The bill was reported do pass by the House committee, which suggests favorable committee sentiment, though no recorded floor debate or vote details are provided.
The main point of contention is likely the bill’s sex-based access rules and its use of birth-certificate sex as the operative definition, which may raise concerns about transgender students, privacy, and local control. Another possible area of dispute is the attorney-fee provision, which could be seen as discouraging municipalities from adopting their own restroom or changing-area regulations.
Impact
HB 1893 would amend Missouri’s education statutes by adding section 160.231 to Chapter 160, authorizing private schools to designate multiple-occupancy restrooms and changing areas for exclusive male or female use and shielding those schools from local ordinances that would prohibit such policies. It would also create a fee-shifting remedy against political subdivisions that adopt conflicting regulations, thereby limiting local government authority and potentially increasing litigation exposure for municipalities.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have had favorable treatment in committee, as reflected by the House committee’s report that it do pass. The emergency clause signals urgency from supporters, who framed the measure as necessary to protect private schools from liability and to allow advance planning for the next school year. No opposing testimony or recorded votes are included in the provided materials, so the overall sentiment can only be characterized as generally supportive in committee with likely controversy outside the committee setting.
Contention
The most notable controversy is the bill’s explicit sex-based restroom and changing-area designation, especially the definition of sex as the sex on an individual’s original birth certificate. That language may be viewed as excluding transgender or gender-nonconforming students and could prompt objections on privacy, discrimination, or student safety grounds. A second point of contention is the preemption of local ordinances and the requirement that political subdivisions pay attorney’s fees and costs if they attempt to regulate in conflict with the bill, which may be criticized as limiting local control and imposing financial penalties on local governments.