Board of Regents Policy Access to Restrooms and Locker Rooms

The Board of Regents for Higher Education is committed to providing an educational and employment environment where all are welcome. The Board of Regents further recognizes that restroom and locker room facilities at the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities are public accommodations. Therefore, the Board of Regents prohibits controlling or otherwise limiting transgender or gender nonconforming persons’ access to restroom or locker room facilities.

Requiring a transgender or gender non-conforming person to use a separate, non-integrated space, potentially identifies that person as well as potentially marginalizes a person. Such treatment fails to recognize that restroom and locker room facilities on the campuses as public accommodations and that denial of access may result in the deprivation of an equal educational or employment environment. In this vein, the BOR is issuing this policy so that individuals may access restrooms and locker rooms, in a manner consistent with their gender identity or expression.

Restroom Use

Institutions may maintain separate restroom facilities for males and females provided that they allow individuals to access the facilities based upon their gender identity and not exclusively based upon their assigned birth sex. However, if requested, any person may be provided with access to either a “unisex” restroom or a restroom with single stalls.

Locker Room Use

Institutions may maintain separate locker room facilities for males and females provided that they allow individuals to access them based on their gender identity and not exclusively based on their assigned birth sex. In locker rooms where undressing occurs in the presence of others, a private option should be provided to any person if requested.