An Indiana bill heading to the desk of the state’s Republican governor would require schools to alert parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change.
The GOP-controlled House voted on Monday 63-28 mostly along party lines to send the controversial proposal to Gov. Eric Holcomb, two weeks after it was endorsed by the state Senate.
LGBTQ advocates have voiced concerns that the move could out transgender kids to their unsupportive families.
House Bill 1608, which has been likened to Florida’s notorious “Don’t Say Gay” law, also bans teaching “human sexuality” to students in pre-kindergarten to third grade — even though sex education in Indiana isn’t taught until fourth or sixth grade.
If signed into law, the legislation would force school officials to provide written notification to a child’s parent or guardian within five business days of the child asking to be called a different “pronoun, title, or word,” according to the bill.
Republican state Rep. Michelle Davis, a lead sponsor of the bill, said it would “empower” parents by putting them in control of “introducing sensitive topics to their children.”
She previously said she introduced the bill in response to “numerous concerns” of parents in her district.
House Bill 1608 sponsored by Rep. Michelle Davis (left), a Republican, would require school officials to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school. AP
Critics of the proposal say it could place transgender teens in harm’s way by outing them to their unsupportive parents. APOpponents argued that the bill is an attack on Indiana’s LGBTQ+ students and their families, and is part of a broader effort by conservatives nationwide to crack down on trans rights.
The bill has inspired multiple protests this year, with activists crowding the Statehouse holding pro-trans signs and chanting “Kill the bill” and “No hate in our state.”
Democratic Rep. Vernon Smith, of Gary, argued that the parental notification bill was “copycat” legislation inspired by Florida’s law promoting a false narrative that schools were somehow teaching children to become transgender or gay.
Earlier this month, the Indiana governor signed a bill banning all gender-affirming care for transgender minors. AP“This is not something that’s been taught to these kids or forced on these kids,” said Smith, who was the only lawmaker to speak out before the vote Monday.
Holcomb signed into law earlier this month a ban on all gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
With Post wires
