California public schools must provide at least one restroom open to students of either sex on every campus beginning with the new school year, prompting family advocates to encourage parents to examine how their local districts intend to comply.
Senate Bill 760, introduced by then-state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, requires each school to make at least one “all-gender” restroom available. Supporters argue that the facilities will provide safer access for students who identify as transgender.
Schools may satisfy the requirement with either a single-stall or multi-stall facility. The restroom must remain unlocked, be readily accessible and provide menstrual products beginning in third grade.
The California Department of Education has posted online guidance titled “All Access Restrooms,” offering schools background information, design and planning materials, and recommended practices for gender-inclusive restroom facilities.
The department explains that conventional school restrooms are separated by sex and may include features such as urinals or menstrual product dispensers. By contrast, all-access restrooms are open to every student and may contain several private toilet compartments or rooms with either individual or shared sinks.
Explaining the rationale behind the facilities, the CDE states: “Being able to access restrooms safely and without fear of shame or stigma affects student health, learning, attendance, and school climate for all students,” adding that the facilities help districts “provide safe, inclusive, and comfortable learning environments that positively affect student achievement and wellbeing.”
Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, responded by warning that parents should not assume the state guidance limits how extensively districts may redesign their restrooms.
“How each school fulfills this new requirement is entirely up to the local school board,” Burt said in a statement provided to The Christian Post. “A conservative district might simply relabel a single-occupancy nurse’s bathroom and call it done. A progressive district could use this law as a green light to convert entire multi-stall restroom facilities to mixed-sex use. Parents need to find out right now what their district is planning.”
Although the CDE says the guidance does not require schools to convert every restroom, it is intended to “support architects and school leaders in their planning process when designing safe and inclusive restroom facilities that increase choice for all students.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 760 in 2023, requiring public schools statewide to provide a gender-neutral restroom by July 1. At the time, Newsom described the measure as “one of the most robust laws in the nation” protecting LGBT-friendly restroom access in schools.
