--- title: South Dakota Transgender Bill: Laverne Cox Calls for Action description: "We should be creating safer, nurturing environments for our children" canonical: https://time.com/4235250/laverne-cox-south-dakota-transgender/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-24T13:39:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T05:20:34.000Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Laverne Cox Calls for Action on South Dakota's Transgender Bill og:description: "We should be creating safer, nurturing environments for our children" og:url: https://time.com/4235250/laverne-cox-south-dakota-transgender/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79a07a782f34fa7f/69887eea428a9e175ecd1841/laverne-cox.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Laverne Cox Calls for Action on South Dakota's Transgender Bill twitter:description: "We should be creating safer, nurturing environments for our children" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79a07a782f34fa7f/69887eea428a9e175ecd1841/laverne-cox.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Laverne Cox Urges Action on South Dakota's Transgender Bill by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Updated: Dec 15, 2023 5:20 AM CUTPublished: Feb 24, 2016 1:39 PM CUT  Actress Laverne Cox arrives at the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Actress Laverne Cox arrives at the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.Gregg DeGuire—WireImage/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Updated: Dec 15, 2023 5:20 AM CUTPublished: Feb 24, 2016 1:39 PM CUT **Correction appended, Feb. 24** Laverne Cox has [weighed in](https://www.instagram.com/p/BCK19CqihwF/ "undefined") against a South Dakota bill that would prohibit transgender students from using bathrooms other than those corresponding to their “biological sex,” sharing a message on Instagram and calling on the governor to veto the bill. Cox, the actress known for her role in _Orange is the New Black_ and for her activism on transgender issues, shared a photo of Thomas Lewis, a South Dakota student who spoke out about his experience at a high school where he was required to use a bathroom based on his sex at birth, not the gender he identifies with. “Let’s urge the South Dakota governor to veto [H.B. 1008](http://time.com/4231379/gender-south-dakota-bathroom-bill/ "undefined"), the bill that ostracizes trans students and targets them for even more harassment and bullying,” Cox wrote on Instagram. “Studies show that 78% of trans students experience harassment or bullying in school and nearly 50% attempt suicide. We should be creating safer, nurturing environments for our children not more hostile ones. Sign the petition to urge the South Dakota governor to veto this bill.” South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard is currently [weighing](http://www.keloland.com/news/article/politics/transgender-people-ask-daugaard-to-veto-hb-1008-during-meeting "undefined") whether to veto or sign the bill. The measure would require schools to provide “reasonable accommodation” for transgender students–which could, for example, include single-occupancy bathrooms. **Correction**: The original version of this story incorrectly described the South Dakota legislation. It would prohibit transgender students from using bathrooms other than those corresponding to their “biological sex,” while also requiring schools to provide “reasonable accommodation” for transgender students. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4235250/laverne-cox-south-dakota-transgender/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4235250/laverne-cox-south-dakota-transgender/"},"headline":"Laverne Cox Urges Action on South Dakota's Transgender Bill","datePublished":"2016-02-24T13:39:59.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T05:20:34.000Z","description":"\"We should be creating safer, nurturing environments for our children\"","url":"https://time.com/4235250/laverne-cox-south-dakota-transgender/","keywords":["LGBT"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79a07a782f34fa7f/69887eea428a9e175ecd1841/laverne-cox.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79a07a782f34fa7f/69887eea428a9e175ecd1841/laverne-cox.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Arrivals","caption":"22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Arrivals","creditText":"Gregg DeGuire—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/lgbt/","name":"LGBT"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4235250/laverne-cox-south-dakota-transgender/","name":"Laverne Cox Urges Action on South Dakota's Transgender Bill"}}]}] ```