Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill on March 21 that bars Transgender public school students from using gender-appropriate restrooms. Arkansas is the fourth state to do so.

The law applies to multiperson restrooms and locker rooms at public schools and charter schools serving pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It will take effect this summer, 90 days after the current legislative session adjourns.

Superintendents, principals, and teachers who violate the prohibition could face fines of at least $1,000 from a state panel, and parents could also file private lawsuits to enforce the measure.

Similar laws have been enacted in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. The Oklahoma and Tennessee laws have been challenged in federal courts, however.

According to the new Arkansas law, schools must provide what is called "reasonable accommodation" for Trans students, including single-person restrooms.

"Each child in our schools has a right to privacy and to feel safe and to feel comfortable in the bathroom they need to go to," Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, the bill's sponsor, told lawmakers earlier this year.

But Clayton Crockett, the father of a Transgender child, said a similar policy adopted at his daughter's school made her feel further marginalized.

"She feels targeted, she feels discriminated against, she feels bullied, she feels singled out," Crockett said at a House panel hearing on the bill.

"They're singling out Transgender people for no other reason than dislike, disapproval, and misunderstanding of who Transgender youth are," said Paul Castillo, senior counsel and students' rights strategist for Lambda Legal.

"And the entire school population suffers as a result of these types of bills, particularly schools and teachers and administrators who are dealing with real problems and need to focus on creating a welcome environment for every student."

"It's a flagrant message from them that they refuse to respect [Transgender people's] rights and humanity, to respect Arkansans' rights and humanity," said Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas.

Opponents of the new law have also complained the legislation doesn't provide funding for schools that may need to build single-person restrooms to provide reasonable accommodations.

Unfortunately, the Arkansas measure might be followed by an even stricter bill criminalizing Trans adults who use public restrooms that match their gender identity. According to the HRC, more than two dozen bathroom bills have been filed in 17 states.

At least two federal appeals courts have upheld Transgender students' rights to use the bathroom corresponding with their gender identity. A federal appeals court in Florida ruled that a similar policy at a Florida school district was constitutional, however.

Earlier this month, Sanders signed a wide-ranging education bill that prohibits classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation before fifth grade. The restriction is similar to a Florida measure now called the "Don't Say Gay" law.