A proposed bill in Missouri would imprison teachers and force them to register as sex offenders if they affirm the gender identities of transgender students.

Sponsored by State Rep. Jamie Ray Gragg (R-Ozark), House Bill 2885 would charge teachers with a class E felony — punishable by a $10,000 fine and up to four years in prison — if they are believed to have supported a transgender student’s social transition.

Other examples of class E felonies include involuntary manslaughter, third-degree, domestic assault, harassment, stalking, and child molestation.

Social transition involves affirming a person’s gender identity by referring to them by names or pronouns that don’t necessarily match their assigned sex at birth, condoning the wearing of gender-nonconforming clothing or hairstyles, and allowing them to participate in activities or access spaces generally reserved for one particular sex.

Despite common misconceptions, social transition does not involve any specific medical procedures, such as puberty blockers, hormones, or gender confirmation surgery, although social transition may precede a person’s decision to transition medically.

Under Gragg’s bill, teachers who provide support, whether material or in the form of information or links to resources, for a student’s social transition could be accused of violating the law and forced to register as a “Tier 1” sex offender.

This is the same penalty handed out to those guilty of public indecency, exposure, possession of child pornography, and voyeurism of an unwilling victim.

The bill defines social transition as “the process by which an individual adopts the name, pronouns, and gender expression, such as clothing or haircuts, that match the individual’s gender identity and not the gender assumed by the individual’s sex at birth.”

Under the bill’s restrictions, a teacher could not comply with even a parent’s request that they address a student using pronouns or names that don’t match said student’s assigned sex at birth, thereby undermining parental rights.

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It remains unclear whether teachers would also have to explicitly and publicly condemn or distance themselves from any transgender student who asks to use gender-affirming pronouns, or any student — whether transgender or not — who wears gender-nonconforming clothing or hairstyles, such as a male who has pierced ears or a female student who gets a “pixie” hair cut, lest they be accused of “supporting” a student’s alleged “social transition.”

Gragg told Springfield-based NBC affiliate KYTV-TV that teachers who allow students to access LGBTQ literature or have LGBTQ-supportive signs or symbols in their classroom will also be subject to criminal charges for supporting social transition. 

“Teachers are there in the schools to teach the topics that they’re trained to teach and to help those children grow in knowledge,” he said. “They’re not there to necessarily push a total social agenda, things of a sexual nature.”

He also defended the requirement that such teachers register as sex offenders, saying, “There have to be some repercussions of discussing things of a personal nature with students that we shouldn’t be teaching or shouldn’t be talking with them about.”

If a student approaches a teacher about their gender or a topic that is considered “sexual,” Gragg says the teacher should notify the students’ parents immediately.

“Teachers should say, ‘That’s that’s a very important topic. That’s something that I can’t discuss with you because there are certain rules. However, I would encourage you to talk with your parents and if you are having difficulty with that, we can we can assist with that,'” he said.

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Gragg has insisted that he submitted the bill to address the concerns of parents who believe that their children are being taught age-inappropriate material or lessons that run counter to their religious beliefs, and are being “indoctrinated” by teachers without parents’ knowledge.

“Education begins at home, and it’s time for the few liberal activists who’ve infiltrated the education system to stop interfering in the relationships between parents and their children,” Gragg wrote in a statement to Newsweek. “We need to make sure our teachers, those who spend their lives helping our children grow and prepare for the world, can focus on teaching. HB 2885 does just that.”

LGBTQ activists and allies were outraged by the bill’s broad language and harsh penalties. 

“A teacher in Missouri could be charged with a felony and put on the sex offender registry for using they/them pronouns for a student. This is insane,” wrote Alejandra Caraballo, a civil rights attorney and clinical instructor at the Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, quoting an X post from journalist Erin Reed. 

A teacher in Missouri could be charged with a felony and put on the sex offender registry for using they/them pronouns for a student. This is insane. https://t.co/rTKIDX9mRk

— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) February 29, 2024

“I think this is a great illustration that criminalizing identity is not only going to affect those of that identity! It’s going to criminalize EVERYONE who is involved in acknowledging it exists. And remember: Felons. Can’t. Vote. This is thinly veiled authoritarianism,” tweeted another user.

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I think this is a great illustration that criminalizing identity is not only going to affect those of that identity! It’s going to criminalize EVERYONE who is involved in acknowledging it exists.

And remember:
Felons. Can’t. Vote.

This is thinly veiled authoritarianism. https://t.co/SyirfbqFQr

— Sarah 🏳️‍🌈 (@swrightKC) February 29, 2024

It’s unclear whether the bill — which has yet to receive a legislative hearing — will receive enough support from lawmakers to pass.

But Missouri lawmakers have passed legislation targeting the transgender community before, including a ban on gender-affirming treatments for minors — and a ban on Medicaid coverage for trans adults — that was signed into law last year.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, at least 35 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in Missouri for the 2024 legislative session. 

“[This bill] is just another in a long string of pieces of legislation that are meant to incite hatred and violence against the queer community,” Aaron Schekorra, the executive director of the GLO Center in Springfield, Missouri, told KYTV. “And it comes from a source that, frankly, has just been a bully to a lot of marginalized groups in our state.

“It’s frustrating that we have leaders in our state who continue to waste taxpayer resources, time, and money going after our community,” Schekorra added. “We want to be left alone, and we see a lot of progress happening nationwide in terms of people understanding that the queer community, we’re not the threat that some people have tried to paint us as.”