Missouri's GOP legislative leaders say it should be up to schools to decide how to handle transgender student bathroom access.
Comments from Republicans Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard and House Speaker Todd Richardson to reporters Thursday came days after a Senate committee hearing on a bill to restrict restroom access in public K-12 schools.
The measure would ban transgender students from using bathrooms, locker rooms and showers that don't correspond with the sex on their birth certificates. Schools could allow those students to use unisex or faculty bathrooms with parent permission.
Richardson says local school boards are in a better position to tackle questions about transgender bathroom use.
The Senate Education Committee hasn't yet voted on the bill. An identical measure didn't receive a committee hearing last year.