Dont say gay bill ohio

This story has been updated to add new information.

Ohio lawmakers passed an education bill late Wednesday night requiring public schools to let students take religious courses off-site during the school day.

House Bill 8, called the Parents' Bill of Rights by supporters, would also require schools to tell parents about any age-appropriate "sexuality content" taught and any health care provided to students so parents could opt their children out.

It passed the Ohio Senate 24-7, largely along party lines.

Jodi Whitted, D-Madeira, said she is concerned about outing children.

“It's dangerous, and I've worked with children who have come to me, a trusted adult, who are suicidal and questioning their identity.

“I honestly have no idea how this is going to be implemented,” Grace Humble, a senior studying social work, said. The House approved the bill 57-31.

The bill will now head to Ohio Gov.

Mike DeWine for his signature.

“Schools should not have the broad authority to keep secret information about someone else’s child,” Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, said.

Opponents contend that the bill is a version of Florida's controversial "Don't Say Gay" law that would allow schools to censor books or classroom instruction and potentially out LGBTQ students to unsupportive or unsafe parents.

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Other legislation was folded into the bill to require public schools to adopt a policy permitting excused absences for students who attend religious instruction during the school day.

“This bill endangers lives. It strips transgender and nonbinary youth of the safe spaces they need to confide in educators and school staff, putting them at risk of being outed to unsupportive families,” said TransOhio, Ohio’s only statewide trans-led organization, in a previous statement.

“We’ve been ahead of the curb working with families, allowing access and making Athens City Schools as safe and as accepting as possible,” Springer said.

Within the public school system, the act encourages parental involvement in notifying parents of their child’s well-being and student health. “Separation of church and state is quite widely misunderstood,” he said.

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8 will go into effect in April and will require teachers to notify parents before teaching “sexuality content” and of changes in a student’s mental, emotional or physical health. This is optional under current law, and some Ohio school boards have rescinded religious programs like LifeWise Academy.

A change added Wednesday would allow school boards to add a requirement that religious instructors and volunteers must undergo a criminal background check.

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The bill also mandates schools to allow religious release time during school hours. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said students should be allowed to leave school to attend religious education with their parents' approval.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. "Parents deserve and should be provided a say in what is taught to their children in schools. Another facet of the act is notifying parents of changes in their students’s health and well-being.

Mike DeWine signed House Bill 8, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill, Jan. 8. 8 protects children by safeguarding parents’ rights to make important decisions for their children,” said Aaron Baer, the group’s president. “H.B. “This bill may be the worst bill that we vote on this entire General Assembly.”

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“But, I do believe that parents, again, having information, they’re the most likely people to help that child.”

The Center for Christian Virtue, Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, celebrated DeWine’s signature and said “parents, not government bureaucrats, should be making healthcare and education decisions for their kids.”

“H.B.

“Whether it’s a decision about healthcare, a decision about when a child has a discussion about sexuality, or a decision over whether a child can access a religious released time program like LifeWise Academy, H.B. 8 puts parents back in control.”

Equality Ohio, a statewide LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said it is “deeply disappointed” DeWine signed the legislation given it includes “language similar to Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.”

“H.B.

The proposal is now facing backlash from local LGBTQ advocates.

The bill combines language from Florida's controversial Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law, and legislation that seeks to limit education on race proposed by Republicans in some states.

The bill states that "curriculum or instructional materials on sexual orientation or gender identity" would be banned in classrooms starting from kindergarten through third grade.

In grades four through twelve, such instruction would be banned if presented in "any manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards," the bill reads.

It is unclear how age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate-ness is defined and applied.

Opponents of restricting LGBTQ content have been vocal with their outcries after Florida passed its Parental Rights in Education law.

LGBTQ advocates say the legislation would make LGBTQ identities taboo again and silence LGBTQ students and teachers in the classroom.

They say they expect these policies to have negative mental health impacts on LGBTQ youth who are already vulnerable to discrimination and bullying.

More than 225 bills that target LGBTQ content or identities have been filed in the first three months of 2022, according to LGBTQ media watchdog GLAAD.

"Ohio's Don't Say Gay bill is yet another insidious attempt to chill and censor free speech in the classroom.

Lawmakers are effectively trying to erase LGBTQ+ people and skew history in their favor," said Equality Ohio's executive director, Alana Jochum, in a statement.

"Attacks like these are a product of a small minority of people pushing their agenda to dismantle diversity at all costs -- and in the process putting educators and families in jeopardy for political gain," she continued.

The ban on "divisive or inherently racist concepts" includes "critical race theory, intersectional theory, the 1619 project, diversity, equity, and inclusion learning outcomes" and "inherited racial guilt."

Critical race theory is a discipline in higher education that analyzes how racism impacts U.S legal systems.