Senate Bill 104 FAQ

See below for frequently asked questions regarding Senate Bill 104, which was signed into Ohio state law in November 2024. Additional questions can be sent to the Division of People, Culture and Belonging at people@kent.edu.

The bill, called the Protect All Students Act, enacts requirements on primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education regarding single-sex restrooms. The law prohibits institutions from establishing or maintaining all-gender restrooms, locker or shower rooms, and changing rooms that are available to more than one person at a time. The law also specifies signage requirements and prohibits institutions from knowingly permitting individuals of one sex from using a restroom or locker room designated for another sex.

Single-occupancy (universal) restrooms are located in many buildings across all of Kent State University’s campuses. Faculty, staff, students, and visitors can choose “single-occupancy (universal) restrooms” on the interactive map to find specific locations across all Kent State campuses.

No, single-occupancy restrooms, which are restrooms that do not designate a gender and may be used by one person at a time, will not be eliminated.
Family restrooms and family locker rooms are not impacted by this legislation. Additionally, the legislation allows for parents to accompany children under ten, people assisting a disabled person, or an employee whose job duties require them to enter a restroom or locker room or in an emergency.

Some residence hall restrooms will experience signage changes. Individuals should be mindful to check signage before entering restrooms.
Beginning Fall 2025, signage will be updated in some residence halls to display a men or women designation that aligns with the primary sex assigned to each floor. As this signage is installed, the center door will be reopened to restore full access to the bathroom. This will ensure the bathroom is equally ADA accessible and users are able to access all fixtures inside the bathroom. We remain committed to improving privacy by converting the toilet stalls to full doors in each of these impacted bathrooms so they may be designated as single occupancy. As those upgrades are completed, we will shift from men or women designation signage to single occupancy signage.
Private restrooms inside an individual's room or suite are not impacted by this legislation.

Faculty, staff, students, and visitors can choose “single-occupancy (universal) restrooms” on the interactive map to find specific locations of single-occupancy restrooms across all campuses.

Individuals can decline to answer questions that they are not comfortable answering. The University does not have policies related to restroom use.
To ensure privacy and safety, it is illegal to film or photograph someone in a restroom, locker room or changing room.

It is the policy of the university that there shall be no unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, ancestry, genetic information, military status, or identity as a disabled veteran or veteran of the Vietnam era, recently separated veteran, or other protected veteran.
To report a concern of gender or sexual harassment, please contact the Office of Gender Equity and Title IX at titleix@kent.edu.
To report a concern of other forms of harassment or discrimination, please contact the Office of Compliance, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action at aa_eeo@kent.edu.

Encourage individuals to use the interactive map to find the restrooms they need.
Identify the closest single-occupancy restroom to your classroom or office space. Where possible, share that information with students via your syllabus or class announcements.