In Indiana, public school teachers may soon be required to inform parents if their child changes their gender identity or preferred name. A committee of the state’s House of Representatives approved the parental notification proposal on Monday, which opponents argue will cause LGBTQ students, particularly transgender youth, to feel more isolated. Proponents of the bill, however, say that it would empower parents to choose how their children are raised. The original Indiana bill was amended to prohibit teachers from teaching kindergarteners to third-graders about topics related to gender identity and sexuality, instead focusing solely on sexual education. The bill will only apply to public schools and would prohibit them from disciplining teachers or staff who use a name, pronoun, title, or other word to identify a student that is consistent with the student’s legal name.
The amendments to the bill came after lawmakers were criticized for a previous draft of the legislation that resembled Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill enacted in March 2022. A Senate committee in Missouri also voted to advance a bill that would require public school teachers to tell parents if a child “express discomfort or confusion” about their gender identity or if they request to use different pronouns. Haras Shirley, a transgender man and school resource officer at an Indianapolis high school, criticized the parental notification proposal, stating that it’s “a direct conflict of interest to what I’m sworn to do.” Opponents of the bill booed Republican lawmakers who voted for the bill, while supporters argued that parents, not teachers, should handle such subjects with their children.
Critics worry that the bill will be harmful to LGBTQ youth, forcing them to come out to their parents before they’re ready. The bill also worries educators like Chris McGrath, a teacher from Lafayette, Indiana, who questioned how they could not have the right to compel a school to call a child by a name the parents chose. Despite the criticisms, the bill is expected to move to the full House for consideration.
