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On 12 January 2016, the web site Raw Story published an article (with the grammatically incorrect headline Virginia GOP bill would require schools to verify children's genitals before using the restroom) reporting that Republican Delegate Mark Cole had proposed a bill mandating that schools physically examine children to determine whether they were using boy's/girl's bathrooms that matched their genitals (rather than their asserted gender identity): Many online articles on this topic cited Richmond Sunlight, a web site that provides both the text of bills and a plain English description of pending legislation for residents of the state of Virginia. The Richmond Sunlight highlighted in yellow changes to the Code of Virginia proposed by Cole in that a href=https://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2016/hb663/fulltext/ target=_blank>bill (HB663): Although Cole's legislation was a fairly clear shot across the bow at concessions to transgender students in the United States, none of the language in his bill specifically mandated physical genital checks be performed by school officials (or, as some headlines insinuated, Cole himself). Critics argued that the language of the bill was worryingly vague and that it could not possibly be enforced without requiring direct genital inspections, but other options were possible (such as accepting documentation from a pediatrician already knowledgeable about a child's anatomical sex). Cole also proposed a fine on students for violating the law, an aspect pinpointed by many transgender advocates as particularly objectionable. At a basic level the bill required proof of anatomical sex as defined by its provisions, but much of the media coverage led readers to believe children would be genitally inspected at school bathroom doors, which was misleading. Cole's law indeed proposed such checks be codified into law (to prevent transgender individuals from using bathrooms that matched their gender but not their genitals), but not in the specific manner widely described on social media.
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