Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning men from women’s public restrooms.
Abbott signed S.B. 8, keeping private spaces for multiple people – like restrooms, locker rooms, or changing rooms – for single-sex use, he announced September 22. Officials must now take “every reasonable step” to keep people of the opposite sex out.
“I’m about to sign a law that says, ‘No men in women’s restrooms,’” Abbott said shortly before signing the bill.
I signed a law banning men in women’s restrooms.
It is a common sense public safety issue. pic.twitter.com/fDoHqu0EYd
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) September 22, 2025
Texans “overwhelmingly supported” the measure to ensure privacy and safety, Deputy Press Secretary Eduardo Leal told The Dallas Express.
“No one should have to question their safety or privacy when using a public restroom,” Leal said. “That’s just common sense.”
The law keeps men out of women’s restrooms or locker rooms in government buildings, schools, and public facilities, according to Leal. It uses biological sex as a basis for this distinction, distinguishing between male and female.
This applies to counties, cities, special purpose districts, school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and junior college districts – but not a “state agency,” a term that also includes an “institution of higher education.”
These bodies must label each “multiple-occupancy” private space either male and female, and keep people of the opposite sex from entering. A student who identified as “transgender” allegedly filmed boys in a Virginia locker room, and another allegedly exposed himself to girls in a similar space in Wisconsin.
The law includes some exceptions for maintenance and emergencies, and allows accommodations if someone needs to help a child, a disabled person, or an elderly person.
The measure also requires the Texas Department of Criminal Correction to house inmates according to their biological sex. Male prisoners who identify as “transgender” have repeatedly sexually assaulted female inmates, and President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year keeping men out of women’s prisons.
Additionally, the bill requires women’s domestic violence shelters to provide services only to females, with an exception if they have a son aged 17 or younger.
If public bodies break the law, they could face up to $125,000 in civil fines per violation.
“Governor Abbott’s top priority is protecting the safety of all Texans, no matter where they are in Texas,” Leal said.