Utah legislature passes bill to protect women’s privacy in college housing

Utah lawmakers have passed a bill requiring students at public colleges and universities to live in dormitories that align with their biological sex. 

H.B. 269, which cleared its final hurdle in the state House on Monday, now awaits the signature of Republican Governor Spencer Cox, who has previously expressed support for related policies.

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“Dorms are a place where people are particularly vulnerable,” bill sponsor Stephanie Gricius said during a House floor debate last month. “This is a place where these students are living, they are sleeping, and by providing clear guidance and expectations for everyone from the onset, it will help ensure the rights of all people are protected.”

Under the new law, a student will be assigned housing based on the sex listed on his or her birth certificate. Transgender-identifying students will still have the option to live in single-occupancy rooms within co-ed dorm buildings.

“To preserve the individual privacy of males and females, a degree-granting institution that provides student housing may only rent to, assign, or otherwise place an individual in a dwelling unit that is sex-designated within the institution’s student housing if the individual’s sex corresponds with the sex designation of the dwelling unit within the institution’s student housing,” the bill reads.

The legislation’s passage comes after a Utah State University mother’s viral social media post highlighted concerns about her daughter sharing a dorm with a male resident advisor who identifies as a woman. 

Campus Reform spoke with the mother in an exclusive interview about her concerns. She eventually succeeded in moving her daughter to another dormitory, but still expressed outrage over what happened, and called on other parents to defend their daughters when facing similar situations. 

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The parent told Campus Reform about how her daughter initially expressed panic about the situation, texting her: “I think a guy pretending to be a woman moved into my apartment.” She also said how her daughter “worried about [it] all of Christmas break.”

The mother stated that Utah State allowed her daughter to change her living situation, but noted that her daughter warned a fellow student who was initially meant to be her roommate about the presence of a man in the dormitory. The other female student promptly “changed apartments as well.” 

Campus Reform has contacted Utah State for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.