Ensuring Access to Gender-Neutral Restrooms

February 12, 2024

As many of you know, California signed into law SB 760 last September, a bill requiring all public schools to provide gender-neutral restrooms by July 2026. Senator Josh Newman, the author of the bill, cited survey data indicating that 45 percent of LGBTQ+ and non-binary students actively avoid using traditional, gender-segregated restrooms because the restrooms make them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

Since the implementation of AB 1732 in March 2017, Chaffey College has been complying with the changes in law to convert single-stall restrooms to gender-neutral restrooms and has been actively working to designate additional gender-neutral restrooms at Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and Chino campuses. The location of these restrooms is identified in our campus maps. (Chino campus gender-neutral restrooms are planned for inclusion in the new Instructional Building.) The College has established protocols to ensure gender-neutral bathrooms are open and available for students each day. As part of our Measure P Build Out Plan, additional gender-neutral restrooms are being designed into each building.

Chaffey College supports its entire student body and our employees and respects their gender identity, sexual orientation, race, age, religion, national origin, and/or disability status. We are dedicated to fostering a safe and welcoming campus atmosphere.

We have also recently learned there has been some concern over how gender-neutral bathrooms were selected. We want to address any confusion about the "conversion of faculty or staff bathrooms." Chaffey College does not limit restrooms to "faculty" or "staff" unless the restroom is in a staff-only area. In the past, and in some locations, the single-stall restrooms may have been categorized as “staff only.” This decision was not broadly considered, needs to be more consistent with overall practice, and likely violates the law. The Academic Senate also passed a resolution which underscores faculty support for recognizing single-stall restrooms as shared, gender-neutral bathroom spaces for students, faculty, and staff. These gender-neutral bathrooms at our campuses keep us in compliance with the law to ensure all of our students feel safe on our campuses.

We thank the campus community, students, faculty, and staff for helping us achieve and maintain this important initiative.

 

Thank you,

Henry D. Shannon, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President

Lisa Bailey
Associate Superintendent of Business, Human Resources and Information Technology Services

Misty Burruel
Interim Associate Superintendent of Instruction and Institutional Effectiveness

Alisha Rosas
Associate Superintendent of Student Services and Strategic Communications

Troy Ament
Associate Superintendent, Administrative Services and Emergency Operations