Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana schools would be required to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school under a bill approved Monday by the House despite worries that the step could out young transgender people to their families.
The Republican-dominated House voted 63-28 largely along party lines to send the bill to GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb for his consideration after it won the Senate’s endorsement two weeks ago.
The proposal would require 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.
Supporters argued the approach would empower parents. Republican state Rep. Michelle Davis, a lead sponsor of the bill, said it would put parents in control of “introducing sensitive topics to their children.”
Opponents derided the proposal during legislative hearings as an attack on the state’s LGBTQ+ students, especially young transgender people. Like in Indiana, Republican-led legislatures around the country have been targeting transgender people with legislation affecting sports, health care, workplaces and schools.
Holcomb signed into law earlier this month an Indiana ban on gender-transition procedures for transgender minors.
Protesters against the Indiana legislation, which originally resembled Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law enacted last year, often filled the Statehouse hallways this session with thunderous cheers of “No hate in our state” and “Kill the bill.”
The parental notification bill would also bar Indiana schools from teaching “human sexuality” in pre-K through third grade.
Democratic Rep. Vernon Smith, of Gary, argued the measure was “copycat” legislation promoting a fallacy that schools were somehow teaching children to become transgender or gay.
“This not something that’s been taught to these kids or forced on these kids,” he said.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Good grief
It saddens me that our legislators are working so hard to attack so many of our children and ensure that they feel unwelcome in their home state. The native Hoosiers who are closest to me include a valedictorian of a large Indiana high school who graduated from IU and then left Indiana for good, and another who graduated near the top of the class at a highly competitive Indiana high school, will soon graduate from IU, and will likely also leave Indiana and never return. Our Indiana legislative hatred will ultimately damage our economy by burning up the welcome mat and officially revoking Hoosier Hospitality.
I personally don’t see the issue when the Bill is largely targeting grade school kids and not so much high school or at the very least college students.Lets be honest, this entire subject is a distraction anyway from the purpose of going to school and that’s simply to be educated, not to be caught up in political issues and correctness like what pro noun you prefer to be called. Yes Indiana is losing its talent but Indiana isn’t the only state that has a Bill like this and if the only requirement these individuals you speak of that left the state is for the right to use the pro noun they’re comfortable with, then they’re unaware of the many other issues that effects a good living in a state. I draw social security and I would never move to Utah because that’s one of the 12 or so states that tax your social. My point is, there’s more import and direct issues that will effect you life immediately than this Bill.
This is embarrassing for Indiana.