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NY Post
New York Post
25 Apr 2023


NextImg:Indiana bill would force schools to tell parents if kids want name, pronoun change

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.

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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.”

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She previously said that she introduced the bill in response to “numerous concerns” of parents in her district.

House Bill 1608 sponsored by Rep. Michelle Davis, a Republican (left), would require school officials to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school.
AP

A crowd gathers at the outside of the Indiana House chamber as the House Education Committee discuss House Bill 1608 at the Statehouse, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, in Indianapolis

Critics of the proposal say it could place transgender teens in harm’s way by outing them to their unsupportive parents.
AP

Opponents 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.  

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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 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.

A person sits in the public gallery as people protest against SB 480, a total ban on affirming care for transgender youth, while the Indiana House public health committee has a hearing at the Statehouse, Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Earlier this month, the Indiana governor signed a bill banning all gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
AP

“This 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.

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Holcomb signed into law earlier this month an Indiana ban on all gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

With Post wires