As legislation regarding discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools pop up in at least 20 states, a new bill in the Louisiana House of Representatives would be one of the nation’s most restrictive.
The legislation, which would ban public school teachers from discussing or teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation, was introduced into the House on March 17.
The bill, HB-837, would also ban any public school employee from discussing their own gender identity or sexual orientation.
Proposed by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton, the bill is similar to legislation passed in Florida, often referred to by opposition as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Unlike Florida’s legislation, which states that discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity “may not occur in kindergarten through grade three,” this bill restricts the discussion further, prohibiting “topics of sexual orientation or gender identity in any classroom discussion or instruction in kindergarten through grade eight.”
It would ban educators from any discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation during school hours.
The bill also restricts teachers, school employees and presenters from discussing their own sexuality until grade 12.
The grade levels named in the bill were based on Louisiana’s current public school curriculum, said Horton.
However, under current Louisiana law, sex education is prohibited from being taught in kindergarten through the sixth grade, except in Orleans Parish, which can offer sex education by the third grade.
Horton said she saw little to no mention of gender or sexual orientation in the standard sex education curriculum for Louisiana public school grades seven and eight.
Horton’s motivation for the bill was to prevent adults from “interjecting their own lifestyle choices” into unrelated classroom discussions. Horton also said the bill would prevent educators from discussing topics such as transgender identities.
“I don’t believe our students really care to hear that,” Horton said. “I certainly believe it’s up to the parents to educate their children on those topics.”
Horton alleged that some educators seem to have an agenda to share their sexual orientation or gender identity and that her bill was meant to protect children.
“It’s not against anyone at all—it’s just pro-child,” Horton said.
Many educators say the bill would harm Louisiana students.
“What I think it will do is really exacerbate bullying,” said Michael Bibler, an LSU English professor who focuses on queer and southern U.S. studies. “It will victimize students perceived as being queer or different or having a different gender expression because the school has made it very clear that that is not to be tolerated.”
The restrictions would make it exceedingly difficult for faculty to stand up in defense of those students, Bibler said.
He also brought up concerns about how the restriction of discussions on gender and sexuality would harm educators’ ability to effectively teach literature and history because those topics are often central concerns of culturally important texts.
“How are you going to teach Romeo and Juliet?” Bibler said. “How are you going to say they love each other if you can’t talk about gender and sexuality?”
He also drew comparisons between the proposed bill and the Lavender Scare in the mid 20th century. The Lavender Scare refers to a period between the 1940s and the 1960s when between 5,000 and 10,000 gay and lesbian workers lost their jobs as a result of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, according to Prologue Magazine.
The bill, some argue, is not about limiting discussions of all sexuality, but restricting discussions of LGBTQ sexuality, as well as gender identity. Authors and proponents of the bill in Florida claim that discussion of gender and sexuality is an act of “indoctrinating and grooming” children.
“It’s absolutely ridiculous,” Inari Owens, a sophomore studying English and women and gender studies, said. “Queer people are not indoctrinating students by discussing that we exist. It is very hypocritical that Republican lawmakers are calling this an anti-grooming bill, when there is so much from a heterosexual standpoint that does groom children.”
Owens, president of Spectrum, one of three LGBTQ organizations on campus, brought up that parents who buy onesies for young boys that say things like ‘chick magnet’ on them, for example, are an example of indoctrination.
Bills like the one already passed in Florida and HB-837, Owens argued, will delay young LGBTQ exploration of sexuality and self-identity, creating “emotionally and developmentally stunted individuals.”
“But students will still find ways to learn about it,” Owens said.
To combat restrictions in schools, Owens said representation, specifically healthy representation of queer relationships like Disney Channel’s “Andy Mack” and Cartoon Network’s “Steven Universe,” is essential to supplementing the discussions that won’t be had in the classroom if HB-837 becomes law.
“It’s very important that we think about how this will affect the people around LGBTQ+ students like their teachers,” they explained. “It’s a teacher’s duty to provide safe spaces for their students, regardless of sexuality, ideology, race and gender.”
Owens argued that it is the role of the teacher to teach all students about the real world, which includes the LGBTQ community.
“This won’t stop queer people from existing. Queer people come out of deeply conservative, anti-LGBTQ scenarios all the time,” Owens said. “This won’t stop it from happening. It will only promote ignorance in students.”
