States map 2015 for blog Written by Don Byrd

A bill introduced in the Oklahoma legislature would add the issue of religious accommodation into an already contentious national debate over transgender students’ access to public school restrooms. As introduced, Senate Bill 1619 would require a school district to grant a student or parent’s request for restrooms that exclude transgender students, if the accommodation request is based on sincerely held religious beliefs.

The NYTimes reports that the proposal is designed to counter the Justice Department’s guidance letter issued earlier this month, clarifying that current law prohibits school districts receiving federal funding from treating transgender students differently than they treat other students of the same gender identity.

From the NYTimes report:

“Our phones and emails are being flooded by citizens who are enraged by this president’s attempt to use our children as pawns in a liberal agenda,” said [Oklahoma] Representative John Bennett, a Republican, in an emailed statement. “This directive is biblically wrong, a violation of our state’s sovereignty and it is a serious public safety issue.”

Oklahoma legislators also filed a companion resolution calling for President Obama’s impeachment over the issue.