Joel Ebert

USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

The House sponsor of a bill that would require students in public school grades K-12 and higher education institutions to use the restroom that corresponds with their sex at birth is killing the controversial legislation.

Rep. Susan Lynn, R-Mt. Juliet, said Monday she plans on delaying any action on the highly contentious measure in an effort to further study the issue.

"I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says," she said while inside her office at the Capitol on Monday. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues."

Lynn, who had been an outspoken proponent of the measure as it made its way through legislative committees, said school districts are protecting the privacy rights of all students and she was "confident that things will be OK” until next session.

The Republican lawmaker said the controversy surrounding the legislation, which included threats by some companies to withhold business from Tennessee, did not factor into her decision to halt the measure.

“I didn’t have one letter from one company saying that they were pulling out of Tennessee or anything because of this bill,” she said.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Herbert Slatery issued an opinion saying the state could be in jeopardy of losing more than $1.2 billion in federal Title IX funding if the bill became law. Title IX under federal law bars discrimination in education based on sex.

Lynn said the opinion did not address “exactly what we were looking for.”

The opinion came in response to two questions, which centered around the Title IX issue, that Reps. Mike Stewart, D-Nashville, and Harry Brooks, R-Knoxville, who serves as chairman of the House Education Administration and Planning Committee, asked Slatery to answer. Most schools in the state are offering accommodations to students.

She said if the question had been asked “more accurately” there would have likely been a different answer. Backers of the bill, including sponsors Lynn and Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, said the legislation was needed to protect the privacy of students.

“We just did want to protect children at the state level," Lynn said.

Lynn said that she talked about the controversial legislation with Gov. Bill Haslam, who expressed concerns about the Title IX funding.

“He indicated to me that he definitely supports the policy. It’s just the time line and the strategy is just a concern,” she said.

"It is no secret the governor had concerns about the legislation, and those were communicated to Rep. Lynn," said Jennifer Donnals, a spokeswoman for Haslam.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee praised Lynn's decision to kill the bill.

"Today’s move helps ensure that every child in Tennessee will be treated with respect and dignity," said Hedy Weinberg, the organization's executive director. "We will remain vigilant to ensure that all Tennessee children are treated equally under the law.”

Lynn's announcement comes as competing groups descended on Capitol Hill on Monday to continue the battle over the bill, while a panel of senators delayed taking action on the controversial legislation during an afternoon session.

Family Action Council of Tennessee President David Fowler backed the bill and thanked Lynn and Bell for sponsoring it.

"But we join the thousands of parents across the state who are profoundly disappointed that at this point in the process Rep. Lynn has decided not to proceed with a bill that would have simply protected the privacy of the children they have entrusted to our public schools," Fowler, a former state senator, said in a statement.

He said he trusts lawmakers will bring the proposal back next year, and his group would back the effort again.

"In the meantime, we would encourage citizens to monitor the policies of their local school systems and demand that their schools defend the privacy of students if threatened with lawsuits, as has already happened with one local school system," Fowler said.

The latest development came on a day when supporters and opponents descended on the Capitol to make their voices known.

About 30 pastors from the conservative Tennessee Pastors Network joined Fowler and his organization to show support for the controversial bill.

Around the same time, two transgender high school students — Henry Seaton and Jennifer Guenst — headed to Haslam’s office to deliver more than 67,000 signatures from Tennesseans, including nearly 6,000 people who identified as clergy or people of faith, who are opposed to the measure.

Hilton Hotels, Cigna join bathroom bill opposition

Fowler downplayed the possible loss of business and federal education funding and sought to distance Tennessee's proposal from similar legislation passed in North Carolina.

"Ours only applies to the bathrooms and locker rooms in our public schools and colleges that may be used by young people," he said.

As Fowler and the pastors led their event, Seaton and Guenst, who have both spoken against the measure in front of Senate and House committees, were joined by representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and the Human Rights Campaign, all of which have been highly critical of the proposed legislation.

“I’m a boy — I live my life as a boy, my friends know me as a boy, my parents accept me as a boy. I shouldn’t have to use the teacher’s bathroom because some politicians feel uncomfortable with who I am,” Seaton said in a statement.

Seaton said the legislation would “legalize bullying” and “stigmatize and humiliate” transgender students.

“That’s not what laws should do,” he said. “Personally, I think our elected officials should spend their time making sure that every student can be safe and feel welcome.”

Guenst said the current system, which allows schools to offer accommodations to students on a case-by-case basis, is working.

“I have been a public school student for two years and haven’t had any issues using the same restroom as other students — it’s this bill that would create a lot of problems for me and my friends,” she said. “It means a lot to me to be carrying this message of opposition from thousands of people to lawmakers.”

In recent weeks, opposition to the legislation mounted. Last week, executives from 60 businesses, including Cigna, Hilton Hotels, Dow Chemical Co. and Alcoa Inc., signed a letter that was delivered to the Republican leaders of both chambers expressing their concerns about the bill.

Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds

In addition to company executives, elected officials, musicians and businesses — including Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, Viacom and Miley Cyrus — have also criticized the measure.

Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and Knoxville News Sentinel contributed to this report.

Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.