Ohio Gov. DeWine signed SB 104, requiring K-12 and college facilities be designated by birth sex and barring transgender students

On November 26, 2024, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 104, which enacted the "Protect All Students Act." The act requires K-12 schools and public and private institutions of higher education to designate each multi-occupancy restroom, locker room, changing room, and overnight accommodation for the exclusive use of students of the male or female sex as assigned at birth, and bars them from constructing or permitting multi-occupancy facilities open to both sexes. The law took effect 90 days after signing, on February 25, 2025.

The bathroom-restriction language originated as House Bill 183, introduced by Reps. Beth Lear and Adam Bird, and was merged into Senate Bill 104 — a measure nominally concerning the College Credit Plus dual-enrollment program, introduced by Sen. Jerry Cirino — by a House floor amendment adopted in the final hours of session before summer recess in June 2024. The Senate concurred in the amended bill after returning from break, and the enacted law carries both the College Credit Plus revisions and the facilities provisions.

Senate Bill 104 joined a series of state K-12 and higher-education facility-restriction laws enacted across 2024 and 2025. By conditioning access to school restrooms and overnight accommodations on birth sex, the law removes the basis on which transgender Ohio students could use facilities matching their gender identity throughout the state's public and private schools and colleges.