Days before Texas’ “bathroom bill” becomes law, questions remain about how it will be enforced

On Thursday, a new state law will add another layer of anxiety to Simon Shepherd’s already busy life: he has to worry — even more so than usual — about going to the bathroom.

It’s not an entirely new concern, said Shepherd, a transgender man living in North Texas. He had a similar issue in high school, he said, when school administrators asked that he use the girl’s restroom until they eventually allowed him to use the boy’s restroom amid legal pushback. But that was almost 8 years before Senate Bill 8 , which is designed to prevent trans people like him from using certain state-owned facilities matching their identifying gender.

Supporters of the law claim it will make public facilities safer, mostly for women. How state agencies and schools will enforce SB 8 when it takes effect, how