However, proponents say the laws protect the First Amendment rights of teachers and the rights of parents to direct their children’s education. The laws target a small subset of America’s public school students who already report experiencing higher levels of bullying and harassment at school than their cisgender peers and more challenges with their mental health.

Teachers who spoke with Education Week said the laws risk endangering trusting relationships they have with their students and hyper-politicizing the teaching profession, which they say could dissuade prospective teachers from opting for a career in education.Īll of the laws have been championed by Republican lawmakers, and are part of a larger, national push restricting the rights of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming students, whose access to school bathrooms and participation in school sports has also been limited in several states by state laws or district policies.

Teachers and students don’t have to use students’ pronouns and names at school if they don’t align with the sex they were assigned at birth, under legislation passed by lawmakers in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah since last year.

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