How Texas SB 8 Changes Dressing Room Management for Performing Arts Venues
DISCLAIMER: This article provides educational information about Texas Senate Bill 8 and is not intended as legal advice or political commentary. Laws change frequently, and institutions should consult legal counsel for guidance specific to their circumstances. This content serves only to highlight operational considerations for educational theater practitioners managing multi-use performance spaces.
Texas Senate Bill 8, effective December 4, 2025, introduces significant operational challenges for performing arts venues operated by public schools, universities, and governmental entities. The law requires facilities to designate multiple-occupancy changing rooms, locker rooms, and restrooms for use by individuals based on biological sex as defined by reproductive anatomy. While the law itself remains politically contentious, theater administrators face immediate practical questions about compliance in spaces designed for very different uses than traditional restroom facilities.
What SB 8 Actually Requires
The Texas Women’s Privacy Act applies only to facilities owned or operated by political subdivisions and state agencies, including public schools, universities, and governmental buildings. Private theaters, churches, and commercial venues remain exempt from these requirements.
For covered facilities, the law mandates designation of “multiple-occupancy private spaces” where individuals may be in a state of undress. This explicitly includes changing rooms alongside traditional restrooms and locker rooms. Institutions must “take every reasonable step” to ensure individuals do not enter spaces designated for the opposite sex, though the statute provides no specific enforcement methodology.
Penalties apply to institutions, not individuals. First violations carry $25,000 fines, with subsequent violations assessed at $125,000 per day. The complaint process requires a three-day cure period before the Texas Attorney General can investigate violations.
Statutory Exceptions That May Apply to Theater Operations
Section 3002.053 of the Texas Government Code provides specific exceptions relevant to performing arts operations. Individuals may enter opposite-sex designated spaces for:
- Custodial or maintenance purposes
- Medical or emergency assistance
- Accompanying someone who requires assistance
- Law enforcement purposes
- Preventing serious threats to order or safety
These exceptions potentially address crew members, stage managers, and instructors entering dressing rooms for legitimate operational reasons. However, the statute does not explicitly define what constitutes “assistance” in performing arts contexts, leaving institutions to interpret reasonable applications.
Children nine years old or younger accompanied by a supervising adult are exempt from sex-based restrictions. This provision may affect youth theater programs but offers limited relief for high school and collegiate productions.
The Single-Gender Group Challenge
Productions featuring all-male or all-female casts present immediate logistical questions when groups exceed available same-sex dressing room capacity. Section 3002.052 permits institutions to “change the designation of a multiple-occupancy private space from the use designated under Section 3002.051 to exclusive use by individuals of the sex opposite to the previously designated sex.”
This provision suggests temporary redesignation may be permissible. Consider implementing clear signage protocols when temporarily reassigning spaces. Document the operational necessity and duration of any redesignation. Remember that Section 3002.052(b) prohibits accommodations that allow individuals to use spaces designated for the opposite sex, so any redesignation must be complete rather than mixed-use.
Institutions might also establish single-occupancy changing areas as alternatives. The statute explicitly permits “establishing a single-occupancy private space, family restroom, or changing room” without restriction.
Contest Hosting and Shared Dressing Room Practices
UIL One-Act Play contests and similar competitions traditionally assign entire theater companies to single dressing rooms regardless of participant gender composition. This practice appears incompatible with SB 8’s requirements for government-operated facilities.
Host institutions should evaluate whether they can provide separate designated spaces for mixed-gender groups. Where physical limitations prevent adequate segregated facilities, consider whether contests can be restructured or whether alternative hosting arrangements become necessary. Document capacity constraints and compliance efforts.
Crew, Instructors, and Operational Access
The statute’s exception for individuals “accompany[ing] and provid[ing] assistance to an individual who needs assistance in using the facility” may apply to costume designers, makeup artists, and similar roles. However, this exception requires case-by-case evaluation.
Stage managers conducting safety checks or technical directors inspecting rigging anchors likely fall under “maintenance or inspection purpose” exceptions. Emergency medical technicians and first responders clearly qualify under emergency assistance provisions.
Document operational procedures that require opposite-sex access to dressing rooms. Establish protocols that minimize time in spaces and maintain professional standards. Consider whether single-occupancy alternatives can accommodate supervision and assistance needs.
What Can You Do Now?
Review your facility’s current dressing room configurations and typical usage patterns. Identify where current practices may conflict with statutory requirements. Consult with your institution’s legal counsel about specific operational scenarios unique to your venue.
Consider facility modifications that increase single-occupancy changing space availability. Update signage to clearly designate spaces by biological sex. Develop written procedures for temporary redesignation when operational needs require flexibility.
Texas Education Agency has not yet issued guidance specific to performing arts facilities. Monitor your institution’s policy development and participate in discussions about reasonable implementation that serves both legal compliance and educational mission.
The Larger Context
SB 8 represents one component of ongoing national debates about facility access policies. Approximately 20 states have enacted similar legislation with varying enforcement mechanisms and penalty structures. Legal challenges to bathroom bills have produced mixed results in federal courts.
Texas institutions face the most financially punitive bathroom bill in the United States. This reality demands careful attention to compliance strategies while these policies remain in effect and subject to potential legal challenge or legislative revision.
Answer in the comments
What operational challenges does your institution face under SB 8?
How are you balancing legal compliance with educational programming needs in performing arts spaces?
REFERENCES
Texas Senate Bill 8, 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025). Texas Government Code Chapter 3002. Retrieved from https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/892/billtext/html/SB00008E.htm
Texas Tribune. (2025, December 1). What you need to know about Texas’ “bathroom bill.” Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/01/texas-senate-bill-8-bathroom-restrictions-law/
