COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) – A group of Republican state lawmakers is pushing to enact permanent restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students can use in public schools. "We are all gathered here today in defense of a biological fact, which is that men are men, boys are boys, women are women, and girls are girls," said Sen. Wes Climer (R-York). "Our law and our policy should reflect those basic biological facts." Climer introduced a bill Wednesday that would prohibit transgender students from using accommodations – including multi-occupancy bathrooms, changing facilities, and overnight sleeping quarters – that do not correspond with their biological sex. The restrictions would apply to public K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. It would codify a rule included in last year’s state budget that required educational institutions to comply with the ban or risk losing a portion of their state funding. "A public institution of higher learning that violates any portion of this provision shall be penalized twenty-five percent of the funds appropriated by this act that are used to support the institution operations," the bill states. SC Senate debates K-12 Lottery Scholarship bill The constitutionality of the rule is already being challenged in federal court, meaning further legal disputes likely await if the bill passes. A 13-year-old transgender boy from Berkeley County sued the state, school district, and South Carolina Department of Education in November, claiming he was threatened with expulsion for using the boys' bathroom. The lawsuit argues the budget rule directly conflicts with federal Title IX regulations, which bar sex discrimination in federally-funded education programs. “Policies like Proviso 1.120 pose grave threats to trans students’ educations, health, and safety,” said Alexandra Brodsky, an attorney with Public Justice, a nonprofit legal advocacy group representing the student. “They are also blatantly illegal: the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit held years ago that trans students have the right, under the Constitution and Title IX, to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identities, and that ruling is binding on South Carolina,” Brodsky continued. Attorney General Alan Wilson acknowledged the ongoing legal battle Wednesday, but said he "fully expect[s]" the ban will be upheld.