There were two hearings this week on the Parents’ Bill of Rights, legislation that would force teachers and school staff to introduce LGBTQ+ youth to their parents and limit mention of LGBTQ+ identity in school curricula.
HB 8 was one of the first eight bills introduced by Republicans in 2023, making it one of the top priorities of this two-year term.
The bill requires teachers and school staff – including school social workers, counselors, and psychologists – to notify a student’s parents of “any change in services to the student, including counseling or monitoring services related to the mental, emotional, or physical health of the student or his/her well-being.” existence.”
The legislation clearly defines transgender identity as requiring parental notification, and previous testimony has confirmed that disclosing sexual orientation would also result in contact with parents.
The bill also prohibits any mention of “sexual content” in grades K-3 and requires that such content be “age appropriate” for all other grades. Sexual content is defined in the bill as “written instructions, presentations, depictions or descriptions of sexual concepts or gender ideologies.” “Gender ideology” is not defined anywhere in the bill.
On Tuesday, a directive was introduced into the bill requiring all schools to develop a policy on exemptions for religious classes.
In more than a dozen House and Senate committee hearings since it was introduced nearly two years ago, opponents of the bill provided hundreds of testimonies, outnumbering supporters of the bill by a margin of more than 100 to 1.
LGBTQ+ advocates have labeled the bill the “Dangerous Students Act,” the “Ban Gay/Trans Talk Act,” and a threat to all LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio public schools.
Opponents included the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), which has repeatedly testified that HB 8 violates their professional guidelines and all elements of a fit therapeutic process, violating students’ “privacy rights and desires.”
These arguments appear to have failed to convince Republican legislators.
And now… learning about religion
The bill was considered twice in the Senate Education Committee this week.
On Tuesday, the bill was amended to include a language requirement requiring all school districts to have a Religious Education Relief Hours (RTRI) policy. Across the state, local school boards are grappling with the progress of Lifewise Academy, an organization that coordinates transportation of students to Bible classes during the school day. The Lifewise program clearly states that the LGBTQ+ identity is a sin and “all sin brings anger.” [God] and it grieves Him.”
The Senate Education Committee’s amendment would force all schools to grapple with what education experts described as incredible disruption for students leaving in the middle of the day to receive instruction.
Sen. Catherine Ingram (R-Cincinnati), who served on the Cincinnati school board for many years, proposed nearly a dozen amendments to the RTRI language that GOP leaders ignored: everything from requiring background checks for school transporters to language that would intended to limit when such religious teaching may take place.
For more than twenty minutes, Chairman Andrew Brenner (D-Delaware) immediately rejected each of Senator Ingram’s amendments, dismissing them as “unnecessary” or even failing to recognize them. In a clearly planned process, Brenner forwarded each amendment to Vice President Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) to table the Ingram proposals, effectively preventing any debate on any of the Ingram proposals.
“Do you have any further corrections?” Brenner asked Ingram as he summarily dismissed all of her concerns.
“I should,” Ingram replied without hesitation, blatantly ignoring the futility of proposing language that Brenner would apparently never allow to be discussed. Her response drew laughter from the gallery.
“Okay, that’s kind of funny,” Brenner said.
Teachers speak out
Before the hearing, 177 Ohioans testified, with one person supporting HB 8 and the remaining 176 opposing the bill.
People testifying before the committee on Tuesday expressed exhaustion and frustration at having to constantly go before lawmakers and express their concerns because their words had little or no impact on Republican votes.
“This is the fourth time I have testified against this type of legislation,” said Dara Adkison, executive director TransOhio. “Each time, I hoped that lawmakers would recognize the real impact of these policies on families and choose a path that was inclusive and fair. Yet again, we are debating another bill that promotes division, individualization and marginalization instead of addressing the real needs of Ohio students and families.”
Liam Strausbaugh, a licensed social worker and employee of the Ohio chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), testified that the organization repeatedly tried to work with legislators to find compromises to improve the bill, but some committee members refused to meet to discuss possible amendments to to address faculty strain, Ohio Administrative Code violations, Ohio Revised Code waivers, violations of recent Title IX regulations, and harm to youth mental health.
“As we are here again today, it appears that these concerns will not be enough to dissuade any of you from this harmful bill,” Strausbaugh said.
In Tuesday’s testimony, several public school teachers in Ohio spoke out about HB 8’s impact on student-teacher relationships.
Brandi Braker explained that she dedicated her life to supporting students, which influenced her decision to oppose HB 8.
“As an educated professional in my field with multiple degrees and licenses, I would sooner leave this field than knowingly share information about one of my students that could make him unsafe in his own home,” Braker said.
Tanasia Morton detailed how students come to her office every day to talk about their personal lives because they see school as a secure space where they can be themselves, receive meals, and receive a quality education from caring teachers.
“If House Bill 8 passes, queer students will lose their safe space,” Morton said. “House Bill 8 will only deepen the teacher shortages we face in Ohio.”
Mallory Golski of the Kaleidoscope Youth Center noted the irony of an amendment intended to pave the way for allowing religious education during school hours in the bill that also suggests that learning opportunities are circumscribed by mention of LGBTQ+ identity in the curriculum.
“Effectively censoring the opportunity to learn about the experiences of people different from themselves, while at the same time promoting the ability for students to leave classes to participate in religious education classes, is deeply contradictory” – Golski.
Although the Senate Education Committee was expected to vote on the bill at Wednesday’s meeting, deliberations were adjourned before that happened.
Ohio’s legislature is just a few weeks away from the lame duck session: the period at the end of the two-year legislative cycle when lawmakers rush to introduce and pass as many bills as possible. Bills not adopted by the end of 2024 will have to start the legislative process anew in the next legislative session. 🔥
START ACTION
- From Equality Ohio: “Please call Chairman of the Brenner Commission at (614) 466-8086. We encourage you to share your concerns and urge you to stop supporting HB 8 in the legislative process.”
