RALEIGH, N.C. — LGBTQ+ advocates are sounding off on a bill introduced in the North Carolina general assembly Tuesday that aims at limiting the discussion of gender and sexuality in elementary schools.
Republicans’ so-called Parents’ Bill of Rights includes much of the same language as a version filed last year, which passed the Senate but never came up for a vote in the house.
SB 49 introduced on Tuesday requires schools to notify for parents of changes in student names or pronouns used for a student in school records or by school personnel. It also bans curriculum on gender and sexuality from grades K-4
Ҥ 115C-76.18. Age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade. Instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade, regardless of whether the information is provided by school personnel or third parties. For the purposes of this section, curriculum includes the standard course of study and support materials, locally developed curriculum, supplemental instruction, and textbooks and other supplementary materials, but does not include responses to student-initiated questions.
Equality North Carolina calls SB 49 North Carolina’s version of the “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. It released the following statement:
The bill would cause serious harm to LGBTQ+ students, making them vulnerable to forced outing and erasure in school curriculum. Like all students, LGBTQ+ students are entitled to learn and thrive in a safe environment and deserve protection and support from their schools. Policies like this NC version of “Don’t Say Gay” would force schools to violate that most basic trust.
