So before he made his decision, Daugaard sat down with three transgender South Dakotans in his office in Pierre.

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One of them was Kendra Heathscott, a 22-year-old transgender woman from Sioux Falls, who informed Daugaard that he had, in fact, met a transgender person. Heathscott, who was born male, participated in a day program at the Children’s Home Society a dozen years ago when Daugaard ran it, and she recalls Daugaard eating lunch with her and other children and sitting in the audience as she sang “Joyful, Joyful.”

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Heathscott was deeply nervous as she headed into a room off the governor’s office and sat down at an oval table, cognizant that the meeting could shape the governor’s decision, and consequently, the treatment of transgender students for years to come. It was a cloudy day, she said, but the afternoon sun was peeking through. She picked out a wrap dress for the occasion and a pair of nude pumps.

Heathscott shared her story of growing up transgender in South Dakota, and her struggles with bullying and name-calling. School teachers and principals forced her to take off her makeup and nail polish. In the boys’ locker room, she was called an “it.”

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She said Daugaard listened intently and put them at ease, describing it as seeming almost as if they were chatting casually over coffee.

“The goal was to go in there and humanize and give a face to the people who he potentially could be impacting,” Heathscott said. Shortly after the meeting, she said she believed the governor was listening.

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“I think he was moved. I hope so,” Heathscott said.

Daugaard vetoed the bill a week later. In his letter to the state House of Representatives, he wrote that he believed schools, not the state, were best equipped to decide how to accommodate transgender students. Creating a state mandate could open schools to litigation, since the Obama administration has taken the position that bathroom restrictions constitute sex discrimination.

“If and when these rare situations arise, I believe local school officials are best positioned to address them,” Daugaard wrote. “Instead of encouraging local solutions, this bill broadly regulates in a manner that invites conflict and litigation, diverting energy and resources from the education of the children of this state.”

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Daugaard took no position on how schools should accommodate transgender students, leaving it up to local authorities to make such determinations. He could not be reached for further comment.

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Though he never mentioned the meeting with transgender South Dakotans in his explanation for why he vetoed the bill, Heathscott believes it made a difference. It was a chance for Daugaard to see them as people who love to do quintessentially South Dakotan things, like take a stroll through Falls Park or savor the aroma of smoked ham near the John Morell factory.

“I definitely think it made a difference,” Heathscott said.

At the end of their meeting, Heathscott realized that in her two-inch heels she was slightly taller than the governor. She joked that she would not wear heels next time she meets with him.