For some states with laws on transgender bathrooms, officials may not know how they will be enforced

By JACK DURA, JOHN HANNA and SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — U.S. states with laws restricting what bathrooms transgender kids can use in public schools are wrestling with how those laws will be enforced. At least 10 states have enacted such laws and transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people expect states to rely on what they call vigilante enforcement by private individuals. Arkansas and Florida threaten educators’ licenses. Oklahoma promises to cut funding if school districts don’t comply. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Idaho and Tennessee allow private lawsuits against schools. But Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky and North Dakota don’t spell out any enforcement mechanism. Enforcement questions came to a head in North Dakota recently when the Fargo school leaders promised to defy the state’s rules.