School classroom – Photo: Kohji Asakawa, via Pixabay
Republican lawmakers in Congress are pushing two bills that would restrict teachers from acknowledging transgender identity or discussing gender identity in schools.
The first measure, House Bill 2616 — dubbed the Parental Rights Over the Education and Care of Their Kids Act, or PROTECT Kids Act — is being framed as a “parental rights” bill. It would require federally funded public elementary and middle schools to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on official records.
The bill would also require schools to notify parents before allowing transgender students to access sex-segregated spaces, such as locker rooms or restrooms, that do not align with their sex assigned at birth.
The bill would apply to schools receiving federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, which supports education for low-income students. Nearly all U.S. school districts receive some form of ESEA funding.
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), the measure’s lead sponsor, is a longtime opponent of LGBTQ rights. He previously traveled to Uganda for that country’s National Prayer Breakfast, where he urged lawmakers to support the nation’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which imposes harsh penalties for same-sex conduct, including, in some cases, the death penalty.
On April 29, lawmakers voted 216-210 along party lines to advance a rule allowing consideration of the bill, along with several other measures, including an agriculture funding package, budget proposals, a Clean Air Act amendment, and legislation addressing misidentified American-Jewish service members buried overseas.
The rule allows consideration of the PROTECT Kids Act under a closed process, with one hour of debate, meaning no amendments can be offered before an up-or-down vote. A final vote is expected in the coming weeks.
A second measure, House Bill 2617, introduced by U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), would bar the use of ESEA funds “to teach or advance concepts related to gender ideology.” In practice, that could mean schools risk losing federal funding for discussing or even acknowledging transgender identity — including in biological or historical contexts.
Dubbed the “Say No to Indoctrination Act,” the measure would amend ESEA to prohibit such instruction and define “gender ideology” in terms aligned with an executive order from President Donald Trump that recognizes only individuals’ sex assigned at birth.
A companion version of the bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
LGBTQ advocates argue that the “Say No to Indoctrination Act” amounts to a “Don’t Say Trans” policy, under which schools could be penalized for acknowledging any identity beyond a person’s sex assigned at birth. They say the PROTECT Kids Act would function as a forced outing measure, requiring educators to disclose transgender and nonbinary students to their parents — even if doing so could put them at risk of harm.
Tyler Hack, executive director of The Christopher Street Project, criticized the PROTECT Kids Act as “government-mandated forced outing.”
“Most young people already turn to their families when they feel safe doing so,” Hack said in a statement. “But not all queer kids have that option; schools, teachers, guidance counselors, and coaches are sometimes the only lifelines that students have. Every student deserves the dignity and freedom to decide when — and to whom — they share who they are.
“At a time when politicians should be focused on lowering costs, strengthening schools, and supporting families, they are instead targeting queer and trans people — using them as political props in a cynical strategy to divide the country. We should reject it outright.”
The Montana Supreme Court upheld a lower court order blocking the state from enforcing policies that prevent transgender people from obtaining identity documents that reflect their gender identity.
In 2021, Montana lawmakers passed a law restricting transgender people from obtaining birth certificates that reflect their gender identity unless they provide a court order showing they have undergone gender confirmation surgery. Two transgender people challenged the law, and a district judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking its enforcement.
A federal judge in Oregon issued a blistering ruling against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., blocking their efforts to yank federal funding from providers of gender-affirming care for minors.
At the center of the case is the so-called "Kennedy Declaration," in which the HHS secretary claimed that gender-affirming care does not meet accepted medical guidelines, lacks evidence of benefit for treating gender dysphoria, and may cause long-term harm.
At the time, critics said Kennedy based the declaration on an HHS review of gender-affirming care that was anonymously produced and rushed through in 90 days without peer review, in order to comply with President Trump's executive order limiting minors’ access to such treatments.
The city has installed the rainbow flagpole wraps and adorned its windows with Pride-themed signs and stickers in an effort to defy the spirit of the state's flag restrictions.
The city of Boise has installed rainbow-colored wraps on flagpoles at City Hall in a show of defiance toward Republican state lawmakers who recently banned localities from flying non-approved flags, including the Pride flag.
The wraps were placed in the outdoor plaza to signal that the city is LGBTQ-affirming while still complying with the flag ban. City officials also hung a large sign with rainbow stripes and the words "Creating a city for everyone" in one City Hall window, and decorated other windows with rainbow-colored, heart-shaped stickers reading "A city for everyone means for everyone."
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