Yesterday the South Carolina General Assembly passed H.4756, the “Student Physical Privacy Act,” sending it to Governor McMaster to be signed into law.
What the bill does
- Applies to all public K–12 schools and public colleges/universities in South Carolina.
- Requires multi‑user bathrooms, locker rooms, and changing areas to be used based on biological sex (sex at birth), not gender identity.
- Requires schools to offer accommodations (such as single‑user restrooms) for students who do not wish to use facilities matching their sex at birth.
- Creates a private right of action so students and parents can sue if a school forces them to share intimate facilities with the opposite biological sex.
- Makes permanent the bathroom policy conservatives had already secured temporarily through the state budget.
How Saluda County’s Legislative Delegation Lined Up
- The House passed H.4756 by a wide margin (96–19), with Republicans strongly united.
- The Senate then approved an amended version and sent it back; the House has since agreed, so the bill has cleared both chambers.
- Sen. Shane Massey (R), as Senate Majority Leader, backed the bill and helped shepherd it through the Senate.
- Sen. Billy Garrett (R) supported the bill.
- Rep. Cal Forrest (R) supported the bill.
- Rep. Bill Clyburn (D) has consistently voted with Democrats on cultural issues; the small “no” bloc on H.4756 came overwhelmingly from his party, and there is no indication he supported the bill.
