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The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved a ban on transgender students using bathrooms that fit their gender identities and sent the measure to Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. The Republican-backed bill applies to public K-12 schools and institutions of higher education. It requires the schools to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms and overnight accommodations “for the exclusive use” of either males and females, based on one’s gender assigned at or near birth, in both school buildings and facilities used for a school-sponsored event. (Smyth, 11/13)

An eighth grade transgender boy, who was allegedly threatened with expulsion for using the boys restroom, is suing his South Carolina school district and the state over a budget rule that restricts accommodations for transgender students. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, John Doe, a pseudonym for a 13-year-old student in the Berkeley County School District, said that administrators told him in August he could only use the girls restroom or a single-occupancy toilet in the nurse’s office due to a new state rule. The school suspended him for a day when administrators later caught him using the boys restroom, and the principal warned that the punishment could escalate to expulsion if he did it again, according to the suit. (Kingkade, 11/13)

A Tennessee couple says the district is failing to accommodate their 9-year-old son’s service dog, which helps detect his seizures. (Edwards, 11/13)

Disability rights advocates said kids like Ty should not be getting arrested under Tennessee’s school threats law. And they tried to push for a broader exception for kids with other kinds of disabilities. It didn’t work. (Swaby and Pfleger, 11/13)

Applications for MinnesotaCare, a health care program for Minnesotans with low incomes, are now open to all residents, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, as long as they meet other eligibility criteria. People living in Minnesota can qualify for MinnesotaCare if they have an income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, irrespective of immigration status, according to the Department of Human Services. (Thamer, 11/13)

The Chinese community, like many others, has a growing elderly population while facing a critical shortage of caregivers. As the largest Asian ethnic group aged 65 years and older, Chinese Americans are projected to grow to 7.9 million by 2060, more than tripling from 2.5 million in 2019. With more Chinese American adult children moving away from traditional expectations of caregiving, the need for care has increased. Chinese seniors often struggle to find caregivers who can speak the language and attend to their needs. As a result, undocumented Chinese workers are increasingly entering  the workforce to address the shortage of caregivers for older Chinese adults. (Zhao, 11/11)

Providers and advocates renewed their calls to reject a potential return to Medicaid managed care during multiple meetings hosted by the Department of Social Services last week. (Golvala, 11/13)

�鶹Ů�� Health News: As California Taps Pandemic Stockpile For Bird Flu, Officials Keep Close Eye On Spending

California public health officials are dipping into state and federal stockpiles to equip up to 10,000 farmworkers with masks, gloves, goggles, and other safety gear as the state confirms at least 21 human cases of bird flu as of early November. It’s the latest reminder of the state’s struggle to remain prepared amid multibillion-dollar deficits. Officials said they began distributing more than 2 million pieces of personal protective equipment in late May, four months before the first human case was confirmed in the state. They said they began ramping up coordination with local health officials in April after bird flu was first detected in cattle in the U.S. Bird flu has now been confirmed at more than 270 dairies in central California, and traces were recently detected at a wastewater sampling site in Los Angeles County. Bird flu was also recently detected in a flock of commercial turkeys in Sacramento County. (Thompson, 11/14)