SPONSOR: Hausman
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Emerging Issues by a vote of 10 to 4.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 1893.
This bill defines "multiple-occupancy restroom or changing area" and allows private schools to establish such restrooms and changing areas for the exclusive use of males or females. The bill prohibits political subdivisions from adopting any ordinance, rule, or regulation prohibiting private schools from establishing multiple-occupancy restrooms and requires such entities to pay for attorney fees and costs incurred by a private school for a valid defense against such an ordinance or regulation.
This bill contains an emergency clause.
This bill is similar to HCS HB 1197 (2025).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that if a family chooses to send their child to a private school, they should be expected to follow the rules and regulations that the school puts in place. Supporters further state that the provisions of this bill are not an attempt to exclude anyone, but rather a means of protection for the school's students.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Hausman; Issachar LLC; Missouri Catholic Conference; Arnie Dienoff; and David Humphreys.
OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that people who identify as trans are not trying to harm people when they use the bathroom. Opponents further state that the provisions of this bill will lead to more harassment of trans kids and a loss of revenue to the State as more people leave Missouri. Opponents also state that it would be nearly impossible to enforce these provisions, especially since there are no reported incidents of people being harmed by trans people. Testifying in person against the bill were Ariella Allen; Cammie Storm; Nicholas Tatum, In Tact; Samantha Jones; Scott Hammack; Cory Dewald, Pro Mo; Abortion Action Missouri; Alexi Vasquez; Britney Jolene Hochman; Carla Kreegar; Christine E. Reynolds; Keith L. Brown (Kathleen), Trans Liberation Columbia; Landon (Lana) Patterson; May Hall; Mordecai Kreegar; Reverand Meagan Mclaughlin; Rhiannon Trask; American Civil Liberties Union - Missouri; Stevie Miller; and Suzanne Mcginnis.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: