N.C. “Don’t Say Gay” Bill to Go Into Effect July 2023
Emily Cobb | February 16, 2023
Warren Wilson College (WWC) students may have noticed a rise in bills and legislation to control and interfere in the classrooms, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues. There have been bills that cover these matters, such as in Fla. where a bill passed that was coined the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Following in Fla.’s footsteps, N.C. has a similar bill that has passed its readings in the state Senate and House twice. The plan is for it to go into effect on July 1, 2023.
The bill has been titled “The Parents Bill of Rights,” and is stated in the bill as “an act to enumerate the rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their minor children.”
One specific clause that is reminiscent of Fla.’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is 115C-76.18. This section of the bill is for age-appropriate instruction for grades kindergarten through fourth grade and states:
“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.”
The bill includes a section requiring parental consent before students can be given surveys. Some of the times when consent must be asked include questions such as mental problems, poor behavior, political affiliations, income, sex behavior/attitudes and income.
Nora Bliss is a first-year at WWC on Land Stewards Crew and is planning on majoring in humanities.
“As a queer kid, that [the bill] would have been awful, it would have hurt so badly,” Bliss said. “School is such a big part of your life and a big part of growing up and understanding the world around you. And when you're not represented in that, it gets confusing and weird. And when it goes even farther to the point that you're not even allowed to say it [gay]. That's even more dangerous.”
Written in the bill is that the parents of a child must be notified “prior to any changes in the name or pronoun used for a student in school records or by school personnel.”
The concern LGBTQ+ activists and others express are that some students do not feel comfortable revealing this information to parents. Many students may want the liberty to safely discuss things like sexual orientation without their parents. Some view this requirement as leading to teachers outing students to their families.
“I understand why [parents are informed], but I don't think it's safe,” Bliss said. “I don't think it's good. I understand why parents want to know what's going on with their children, but there's probably a reason your kids don’t tell you.”
Lawmakers and supporters of the bill argue that children in elementary school are too young to be learning about things such as the LGBTQ+ community. Bliss disagrees with this.
“I don't think it's too young,” Bliss said. “I think there's this weird idea that gayness and queerness are always inherently sexual. But we never think of straight relationships like that. We never think of cis people like that. With this bill, it [sexualization] is going to continue even more. And hate is going to continue, and more misunderstandings are gonna continue.”
Additionally, Bliss feels that school is about education and socialization and can be a safe haven for students.
“I think it's taking that safe place away from a lot of students,” Bliss said. “It's important to learn about everyone, and everyone's ideas and thoughts. Even if it's some people don't agree with it. I think it's important because it allows for understanding and openness and acceptance.”
In order to have some understanding of what the N.C. bill could look like when it goes into effect, one can refer to Fla.’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The bill became law and went into effect in July 2022, and limits the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity through third grade.
The portion of the bill focusing on that according to the National Education Association (NEA) reads: “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
After third grade, such instruction in classrooms as quoted from the bill is only allowed as “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Bliss mentioned that needing bills to limit the discussion of things such as sexual orientation and gender identity is unnecessary.
“We're not seeing that stuff in schools right now,” Bliss said. “We're not learning about the history of minority groups in a lot of academic fields, especially in the states that are actively trying to push these bills. So I think there's this false idea that this is even happening. And it's a fear of nothing.”
To Bliss, the bill promotes the idea that the discussion of gender identity, sex and sexual orientation in elementary school is being inappropriately discussed or even discussed in general.
“We see conservative politicians, not just [President} Trump, putting this fear that their children are being indoctrinated,” Bliss said. “All of these things that are, you know, progressing our future are seen as dangerous. I think there's a fear of change as well. It’s not all just because people are bigots. It's also because they have been ingrained that if things change, something's wrong.”
Many of the concerns among educators and individuals are that the bill is vague. Some confusion lies in the question of whether this applies to non-LGBTQ+ issues in terms of orientation and identity. How should teachers go about defining the bill? Does this mean teachers cannot have any books with LGBTQ+ characters? What are the state standards for what is appropriate for students according to age and development?
According to NEA, “The [Fla.] “Don’t Say Gay” law itself requires schools to create a complaint procedure through which parents may raise “concerns” about compliance with the law.”
These “concerns” could lead to teachers being investigated, resulting in them being fired, having their teaching license revoked and even getting sued.
“I think it's gonna make less people want to teach,” Bliss said. “It's also not allowing them to teach curriculum that is expansive and equal. Also, losing your job because you talk about a queer person or say the word gay, or whatever would happen depending on the bill I think is bullshit.”
Overall, across the country stricter laws around gender identity and sexual orientation are popping up in classrooms. This stopping of LGBTQ+ discussion in the classroom worries many, including activists, members of the community and teachers.