H 4756

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 4756
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Committee Amendment Adopted and Amended
March 25, 2026
H. 4756
Introduced by Reps. Pope, Bailey, Ballentine,
Brewer, Brittain, Bustos, Caskey, Chapman, Crawford, Davis, Duncan, Forrest,
Gagnon, Gatch, Gilliam, Guest, Hardee, Hartz, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott,
Hixon, Holman, J. E. Johnson, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Martin, McCravy, McGinnis,
C. Mitchell, T. Moore, W. Newton, Oremus, Pedalino, Rankin, Robbins, Sanders,
Schuessler, Sessions, G. M. Smith, M. M. Smith, Taylor, Vaughan, Whitmire,
Wickensimer, Willis, Wooten, Yow, B. Newton, Chumley, Edgerton, Magnuson,
Terribile, White, D. Mitchell, Cromer, Gilreath, Huff, Landing, Lastinger,
Teeple, Guffey, McCabe, Gibson and Bowers
S. Printed 3/25/26--S.  [SEC
4/1/2026 11:45 AM]
Read the first time February 4, 2026
________
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE
"SOUTH CAROLINA STUDENT PHYSICAL PRIVACY ACT" BY ADDING ARTICLE 5 TO CHAPTER
23, TITLE 59 SO AS TO PROVIDE VARIOUS MEASURES TO PROMOTE AND ENSURE PRIVACY
AMONG SEXES USING CERTAIN RESTROOMS AND CHANGING FACILITIES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR
NONCOMPLIANCE, AMONG OTHER THINGS.
    Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  This act may be cited as the "South Carolina Student Physical Privacy
Act."
SECTION 2.  Chapter 23, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by
adding:
Article 5
Student Physical Privacy
    Section
59-23-510. As used in this article:
    (1)
"Changing facility" means a facility in which a person may be in a state of
undress in the presence of others, including a locker room, changing room, or
shower room.
    (2)
"Restroom" means a facility that includes one or more toilets or urinals.
    (3)
"Sex" means a person's biological sex, either male or female, as observed or
clinically verified at birth.
    (4)
"Sleeping quarters" means a room with a bed in which more than one individual
is housed overnight.
    (5)
"Female" means an individual who naturally has, had, or would have, but for a
congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive
system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for
fertilization.
    (6)
"Male" means an individual who naturally has, had, or would have, but for a
congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive
system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for
fertilization.
    (7)
"Multioccupancy" means a space designed for use by multiple persons
simultaneously.
    (8)
"Accommodation" means:
       (a)
a single-user restroom or changing facility;
       (b)
temporary exclusive use of a multi-occupancy restroom or changing facility; or
       (c)
a single-user portable restroom or changing facility.
    Section
59-23-520. A public school district shall not permit any public school within
the district to use any funds to maintain or operate any restroom or changing
facility on its premises that is not in compliance with this article or
facilitate any public school-authorized activity or event involving overnight
lodging that is not in compliance with this article. The South Carolina State
Board of Education shall direct the South Carolina Department of Education to
withhold twenty-five percent of the funds appropriated by the General Assembly
that are used to support the school district's operations for any district that
violates any portion of this article until the South Carolina State Board of
Education determines the school district is in compliance.
    Section
59-23-530. A public institution of higher learning shall not use any funds to
maintain or operate any restroom or changing facility on its premises that is
not in compliance with this article or facilitate any institution-authorized
activity or event involving overnight lodging that is not in compliance with
this article. A public institution of higher learning that violates any portion
of this article, as determined by the South Carolina Commission on Higher
Education, shall have twenty-five percent of the funds to be appropriated by the
General Assembly that are used to support the institution's operations withheld
until the institution is determined to be in compliance by the South Carolina
Commission on Higher Education.
    Section
59-23-540. (A)(1) All public schools and public
institutions of higher learning must provide an accommodation for a single-user
restroom and changing facility or an accommodation. The single-user restroom
and changing facility in this section need not be two separate accommodations.
       (2)
Multioccupancy public school or public institution of higher learning restrooms
and changing facilities must be designated for use only by members of one sex at
a time, on either a permanent basis or temporary or event-based basis. Any
public school or public institution of higher learning restrooms and changing
facilities that are designated for one sex must be used only by members of that
sex. Any restroom or changing facility designated for one sex on a temporary or
event-based basis, must be used only by members of that sex during the period
of such designation. No person shall enter a restroom or changing facility that
is designated for one sex unless he or she is a member of that sex; and the
public school or public institution of higher learning shall take reasonable
steps to ensure that all restrooms and changing facilities provide its users
with privacy from members of the opposite sex. The provisions in this item do
not apply:
  (a)
to custodial or maintenance work when the restroom or changing facility is not
being used or otherwise occupied by a member of the opposite sex;
  (b)
to provide coaching or athletic training during athletic events by coaching
staff in changing rooms when no individual is in a state of undress;
  (c)
to a person or people rendering medical assistance; and
  (d)
during a natural disaster, emergency, or when use of the restroom or changing
facility is necessary to prevent a serious threat to good order or student
safety.
    (B)
During any public school or public institution of higher learning-authorized
activity or event where students share overnight lodging, no student shall be
required to share a sleeping quarter or multioccupancy restroom or changing
facility with a member of the opposite sex, unless such persons are members of
the same family, such as a parent, legal guardian, sibling, or grandparent.
    (C)
In any other public school or public institution of higher learning facility or
setting where a person may be in a state of undress in the presence of others,
school personnel shall provide separate, private areas designated for use by
persons based on their sex, and no person shall enter these private areas
unless he or she is a member of the designated sex.
    (D) A
public institution of higher learning that offers housing for student residents
must provide students the option to be housed only with persons of the same
sex.
    Section
59-23-550. (A) An individual who,
while accessing a restroom or changing facility designated for use by their
sex, encounters a person of the opposite sex in that restroom or changing
facility, has a private cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief
against the public school or public institution of higher learning that:
       (1)
granted the person permission to use a restroom or changing facility of the
opposite sex in violation of this article; or
       (2)
failed to take reasonable steps which may include, but is not limited to, clear
and recognizable signage designating the appropriate sex for the restroom or
changing facility to prohibit the person of the opposite sex from using the
restroom or changing facility of the opposite sex.
    (B)
An individual required by the public school or public institution of higher
learning to share sleeping quarters with a person of the opposite sex has a
private cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief against the
offending public school or public institution of higher learning.
    (C)
All civil action brought pursuant to this section must be initiated within two
years after the violation occurred. An individual aggrieved under this section
who prevails in court may recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the
offending public school or public institution of higher learning.
    Section
59-23-560. (A) Nothing in this
article may be construed to prohibit public schools or public institutions of
higher learning from adopting policies necessary to accommodate disabled
persons protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, elderly persons
requiring aid, or young children in need of physical assistance when using
restrooms or changing facilities.
    (B)
Nothing in this article may be construed to prohibit public schools or public
institutions of higher learning from establishing single-occupancy restrooms,
changing facilities, or sleeping quarters, or family restrooms, changing
facilities, or sleeping quarters.
    (C)
Nothing in this article may be construed to prohibit public schools or public
institutions of higher learning from redesignating a multioccupancy restroom,
changing facility, or sleeping quarters designated for exclusive use by one sex
to a designation for exclusive use by the opposite sex, on either a permanent
basis or temporary or event-based basis.
    Section
59-23-570. If any subsection or portion of this article is declared invalid,
that declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the
article.
SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
----XX----
This web page was last updated on April 01, 2026 at 11:46 AM