COLUMBUS, Ohio — EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal.
Parents and LGBTQ advocates spoke out this week at the Ohio Statehouse against a bill that would force educators to out a student’s sexuality to their parents and notify parents on “sexuality” content.
“Forcing schools to out kids, regardless of their home situation, will lead to unconscionable cruelty against LGBTQ kids,” Maria Bruno, Equality Ohio’s public policy director, said during Tuesday’s Senate Education Committee meeting.
House Bill 8, dubbed the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” would require public schools to notify parents about sexuality content materials, give parents a chance to review them, and give parents the option to request alternative instruction.
“For religious freedom purposes, that would seem to make sense because parents may want their kids to be taught a certain way,” state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, said.
State Reps. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, and Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, introduced the bill — which passed in the House last summer.
An amendment added to the bill during Tuesday’s committee meeting would prohibit any sexuality content from being taught to students in kindergarten through third grade.
HB 8 defines sexuality content as “oral or written instruction, presentation, image, or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology.”
But many opponents pointed out there is no definition of gender ideology in the bill’s language.
“I asked in this hearing last time, if you could give me a definition of gender ideology, and you haven’t done that,” said Jeanne Ogden, executive director of Trans Allies of Ohio. “So I’m very concerned about having some kind of vague definition of gender ideology.”
State Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, asked Bruno how this bill could be improved.
“I think there may be a way to define sexually explicit content more explicitly to avoid any assertion that mentioning an LGBTQ identity would count as sexually explicit content and avoid that situation,” Bruno said.
HB 8 also would require educators to notify parents about “any request by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the student’s biological sex.”
“Any requests by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the student’s biological sex, it very explicitly would require schools to out students to their parents,” said Mallory Golski, the civic engagement and advocacy manager for Kaleidoscope Youth Center.
She said students are exercising their autonomy when choosing who they feel safe coming out to.
“All people, including young people, are entitled to their own privacy,” she said.
Opponents say HB 8 could prevent students from discussing gender identity, sexual orientation, or various family structures in the classroom.
“This is not only ostracizing to students who are openly queer, gender-diverse, or come from family systems outside of the cisgender and heterosexual standard, but it does not allow for students who may be questioning their gender or sexuality to see themselves represented in classroom materials or discussions unless their classmates’ parents find it acceptable,” said Liam Strausbaugh, a staff member at Ohio’s chapter for the National Association of Social Workers.
Some opponents worry the bill could lead to a chilling effect in classrooms.
“When kids discuss their families, how are children who have queer parents supposed to discuss their families when that is not supposed to be a topic mentioned?” asked TransOhio’s Board Secretary Dara Adkison.
Golski is concerned this could keep certain books off school shelves.
“When we censor certain stories from classrooms and libraries, we aren’t just taking away the chance for some kids to see their lives and experiences reflected back at them,” she said. “We’re taking away crucial opportunities for those who don’t share the same experiences to develop empathy and understanding for others.”
Proponent testimony
Troy McIntosh, executive director of the Ohio Christian Education Network, was the lone person who gave public proponent testimony during Tuesday’s meeting.
“In a free society in which parents are the primary providers for their children, it is the parents who ought to have the fundamental right to make decisions regarding the upbringing, care, and education of their child,” he said.
McIntosh said he doesn’t think HB 8 is going to harm any Ohio students.
“All it does is provide a requirement that the school notify parents ahead of time if sexuality content is going to be discussed in the school,” he said. “Even in a broken world in which some children are not provided the inherent benefits of biological parents in their lives, this principle still serves the best interest of every child.”
The bill has received significantly more opponent testimony in House and Senate committees. Twenty-six people submitted opponent testimony and three people submitted proponent testimony for Tuesday’s meeting.
Read more from the Ohio Capital Journal