Keshet is working with secular LGBTQ+ rights organizations and Jewish organizations to fight for LGBTQ+ equality in Ohio. Along with local synagogues, we are working with Equality Ohio to mobilize Jewish communities for LGBTQ+ rights. To get involved in Ohio, sign up here.

2024 Bills to Watch

(Information from the Transformations Project)

HB 68 (-)

This bill, called the "Save Women's Sports Act", requires schools to classify all of their sports as being for "males”, "females”, or "co-ed”. It bans students whose "biological sex" is male from participating in sports teams designated for females. The requirements in this bill apply to public schools/private schools/charter schools/elementary schools/middle schools/high schools/universities/interscholastic organizations. Students can sue the educational institution if they can claim they were harmed or lost some opportunity as a result of violations of this bill.

HB 6 (-)

This bill, called the "Save Women's Sports Act", requires schools to classify all of their sports as being for "males”, "females”, or "co-ed”. It bans students whose "biological sex" is male from participating in sports teams designated for females. The requirements in this bill apply to public schools/private schools/charter schools/elementary schools/middle schools/high schools/universities/interscholastic organizations. Students can sue the educational institution if they can claim they were harmed or lost some opportunity as a result of violations of this bill.

HB 8 (-)

The bill requires school districts to guarantee a parent's right to be involved in their child's education and health. Parents must have access to all educational and health records maintained by the school that pertain to their child and be able to remove their child from classes at will, with active notification of any classes pertaining to sexuality and gender identity. Furthermore, this bill requires any public or private school employee to inform the legal guardians of a minor if that minor’s gender identity does not match their sex assigned at birth. It also mandates that school employees are not allowed to encourage any minor to keep their gender identity private rather than telling their legal guardians.

SB 83 (-)

Senate Bill 83, (and its companion House Bill 151) the "Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act" is a higher education bill directly impacting academic freedoms and instruction on "controversial beliefs and policies". The bill bans mandatory DEI training and programs, hiring and education around "controversial beliefs and policies", affinity groups, affirmative action practices, academic partnerships with China, and collective bargaining. Violations impact performance evaluations, tenure, and state funding.

HB 245 (-)

This is a drag ban that classifies drag as an “adult cabaret performance” and prohibits these performances in any locations other than an “adult cabaret” and stipulates it is unlawful for anyone under 18 to be present under any circumstances.

HB 151 (-)

This bill is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ban that prohibits state institutions of higher education from using state funds for mandatory DEI programs on the premise of intellectual freedom.

HB 183 (-)

This bathroom ban bill would restrict the ability of trans and gender-diverse youth and adults to use restrooms and other facilities in schools and at colleges and universities in Ohio. It limits facilities to be for the exclusive use of a single-sex, defining sex as what is listed on a person’s birth certificate.

Pro-LGBTQ+ Laws

  • Nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ parents in adoption and foster care
  • Nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in employment, housing, credit/lending, and public accommodations
  • Nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ state employees
    • However, state law explicitly excludes transition-related healthcare in their state employee health benefits
  • Protections against discrimination for LGBTQ+ youth in the child welfare system
  • Gender-neutral option on birth certificates

Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws

  • No second-parent adoption for unmarried couples, confirmatory adoption, or Voluntary Acknowledgement of Parentage (VAP)
  • No recognition for parents using assisted reproduction
  • State has targeted religious exemption that permits medical professionals to decline to serve LGBTQ+ clients
  • No nondiscrimination or anti-bullying laws covering LGBTQ+ students
  • State curriculum not required to be LGBTQ+ inclusive
  • State law prevents transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity
  • No conversion therapy ban covering LGBTQ+ youth
  • Ban on best practice medical care for transgender youth
  • State Medicaid Policy does not cover transgender people
  • Hate crime law does not cover LGBTQ people
  • There is no ban on the gay/trans panic defense
  • No nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in jury service
  • State criminalizes transmission of HIV
  • No gender-neutral option on driver’s licenses
  • No name change process for LGBTQ people