Arizona governor vetoes bill requiring schools to limit transgender students’ bathroom access

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed Republican-sponsored legislation to restrict use of public school restrooms by transgender students.

The veto was among several the Democratic governor made on Thursday.

Under the bill, public schools in Arizona would have to establish other accommodations for a student who refused to use a multi-occupancy bathroom or changing area of the gender they were assigned at birth. The law would also have applied to sleeping quarters on school-sponsored overnight trips.

Republican lawmakers argue that the legislation would protect children, but Hobbs disagrees and has previously said she will not support any legislation that targets LGBTQ+ youth.

Last month, Hobbs vetoed a bill that would have compelled schools not to refer to transgender students by the names or pronouns they identify with.

Transgender rights have become a target in GOP-majority state legislatures like Arizona. Last year, then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law banning trans girls from participating in school sports.