SALISBURY, N.C. (AP) – A North Carolina school system has adopted a policy allowing high school students to carry pepper spray this fall, a policy one board member said may be useful for students who encounter transgender classmates in the bathroom.

The Salisbury Post reports the policy was adopted by the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education during a work session on Monday.

Board member Chuck Hughes said using the sprays was purely defensive, and he referenced the North Carolina law that limits LGBT rights, saying such sprays could help female students if they go to the bathroom and don’t know who’s coming in after them.

The defensive spray clause won’t affect students until it’s published in the upcoming student handbook.