Using Pride flags in schools and teacher-led conversations on sexual orientation and gender identity may be prohibited in public schools, according to regulations that legislators advanced in Alabama on Wednesday.
The initiative is just one more piece of a string of laws critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” across the nation. It may make all marks subject to the current Alabama law, which forbids instruction in only secondary schools.
After a conversation where the bill sponsor claimed it is necessary to stop students from being “indoctrinated,” the House Education Policy Committee decided to pass the bill, while an opposing lawmaker claimed that the state is largely “bullying” some of its citizens. The bill then moves to the full Alabama House of Representatives.
According to Alabama’s current law, education and teacher-led discussions on gender identity or sexual orientation are now prohibited from preschool through the second level because they are “clearly age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” The proposed legislation would make the prohibition absolute and repeal the “developmentally appropriate” reference.
Additionally, a new law was added that would make it illegal for school employees to place flags and insignias that denote a sexual or gender identity on public school property.
“Hopefully, this will send the message that it’s inappropriate for the instructors, the teachers, to teach sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Republican Rep. Mack Butler, the bill’s sponsor.
Rep. Barbara Drummond, a Democrat from Mobile, said the legislation is going “to run people away rather than bring people to Alabama.”
According to House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, the measure “almost resembles bullying to be honest with you.”
“We’re bullying a particular class or group of people because they don’t have the representation to fight back,” Daniels said.
The Alabama legislation, according to Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey, the Human Rights Campaign’s director, “does nothing but stigmatize LGBTQ+ existence in an attempt to turn back the clock on our’ve made progress in equality.”
“Every student deserves a safe, inclusive classroom where everyone is valued, and teachers should have the freedom to perform their duties without fear,” according to Anderson.
Florida and civil rights organizations who had challenged a similar law in that state reached a settlement this month. The settlement clarifies that the Florida law doesn’t censor discussions of LGBTQ+ people or those of Gay-Straight Alliance organizations, and it also doesn’t censor books used for classroom instruction.
The law from Florida served as the model for other states. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and North Carolina have passed similar measures.
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