Dana Ferguson

dferguson@argusleader.com

Gov. Dennis Daugaard will meet with transgender students before deciding whether to sign a bill that would bar them from using public school bathrooms, locker rooms and shower facilities of the gender with which they identify.

After a mishap Wednesday morning in which the governor's office called back an LGBT support and advocacy group that had invited him to meet saying he wouldn't be able to meet them, Daugaard's spokeswoman Kelsey Pritchard said he'll meet the group as early as Thursday.

Pritchard said the office received the request before the Senate advanced the measure to the governor Tuesday and a staff member issued the response in error Wednesday morning.

Pritchard said Daugaard will also meet with the bill's sponsors to hear their input.

Last week, the Republican governor said he hadn't knowingly met a transgender person and didn't think he needed to do so before taking up the bill.

Ashley Joubert-Gaddis, director of operations for The Center for Equality, said she is excited that the governor is willing to meet with some of the Center's directors and other transgender community members.

"Any time you're hoping for someone to see the light or to make change, it's so much easier if you can put a face to it," Joubert-Gaddis said.

Daugaard has five days to approve or veto the measure after it arrives on his desk.

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View the Center's letter here:

What Daugaard has said about transgender bathroom bill