trangender youth

House Bill 1338: Don’t Say Gay (or Race) Bill

UPDATE: The House passed a similar bill House Bill 1608 – that targets just LGBTQ students and topics in public schools and allow mandates bullying of students by other students and staff, also mandating outing gender non-conforming students to their parents. HB 1608 was passed to the Indiana Senate.

Prohibits teaching information about sexual orientation, gender identity, or race at any ‘state educational institution’ which appears to cover not just K-12 but also higher education. Includes any mandatory training about equity, diversity and inclusion regarding women’s issues, sexual orientation, gender identity, and race: “shall not promote in any course certain concepts related to race or sex.” Also prohibits teaching historical context of racism, sexism, and LGBTQ discrimination in classes in both K-12 and higher education.

House Bill 1338
Introduced House Bill (H)
Authored by Rep. Shane Lindauer.

DIGEST
Education matters. Provides that a teacher, administrator, or other employee of a school corporation or charter school shall not promote in any course certain concepts related to race or sex. Provides that a state educational institution may not require a student enrolled at the state educational institution to engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling. Provides that a state educational institution may not require a student of the state educational institution to attend any student orientation or other training or presentation that presents information regarding race or sex stereotyping or bias on the basis of race or sex. Provides that a student shall not be required to participate in a personal analysis, an evaluation, or a survey that is established or administered by: (1) a school corporation; (2) a public school; (3) a state accredited nonpublic school; (4) the department of education (department); or (5) a third party vendor of a school corporation, a school, or the department; without the prior consent of the student if the student is an adult or an emancipated minor or the prior written consent of the student’s parent if the student is an unemancipated minor. (Current law provides that a student shall not be required to participate in a personal analysis, an evaluation, or a survey that is not directly related to academic instruction and that reveals or attempts to affect the student’s attitudes, habits, traits, opinions, beliefs, or feelings concerning certain matters without the prior consent of the student if the student is an adult or an emancipated minor or the prior written consent of the student’s parent if the student is an unemancipated minor.) Establishes certain requirements regarding contracts or agreements with third party vendors to: (1) collect or share information from a student personal analysis, evaluation, or survey; or (2) provide software or software tools that can be used for data collection, analysis, evaluation, or survey of a student.

Actions for House Bill 1338
H 01/17/2023 First reading: referred to Committee on Education
H 01/17/2023 Authored by Representative Lindauer

Link to downloadable PDF of Introduced bill HB1338.01.INTR

The racist/Sexist part of the bill is here:

Sec. 1. In accordance with IC 20-33-1-1, a teacher, administrator, or other employee of a school corporation or charter school shall not promote the following concepts in a course:
(1) A particular race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.
(2) An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
(3) An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of the individual’s race or sex.
(4) An individual’s moral character is necessarily determined by the individual’s race or sex.
(5) An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
(6) An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual’s race or sex.
(7) Meritocracy or traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or sexist or were created by members of a particular race to oppress members of another race.

Sec. 2. The state board shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 necessary to implement this chapter.

SECTION 4. IC 21-41-13 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]:

Chapter 13. Dignity and Nondiscrimination in Postsecondary Education
Sec. 1. A state educational institution may not require a student enrolled at the state educational institution to engage in any form of mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling. However, voluntary counseling is not prohibited.
Sec. 2. A state educational institution may not require a student of the state educational institution to attend any student orientation or other training or presentation that presents information regarding race or sex stereotyping or bias on the basis of race or sex.

Continue ReadingHouse Bill 1338: Don’t Say Gay (or Race) Bill

Indiana AG Todd Rokita files appeal on injunction of transgender sports ban law

Caroline Beck – Indianapolis Star

TAG: House Bill 1024

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced on Thursday that he filed an appeal of a district court’s preliminary injunction that blocked enforcement of Indiana’s transgender sports ban.

Rokita filed his appeal on Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit saying that House Bill 1041 does not violate Title IX protections, which he says only mentions protections of “sex” and not “gender identity.”

“And in prohibiting ‘discrimination’ and exclusion from activities on the ‘basis of sex,’ Congress did not require schools to blind themselves to sex-based differences that affect athletic performance and safety,” reads the appeal.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Indiana Jane Magnus-Stinson issued the preliminary injunction in July which allowed a 10-year-old girl at the heart of the legal challenge against a state ban targeting transgender athletes to rejoin her softball team.

The lawsuit claimed a new Indiana law banning transgender students from participating in all-female school sports amounts to discrimination under federal law guaranteeing equal access to education and educational programs. The law took effect July 1.

Rokita said in an emailed statement that allowing transgender athletes to compete alongside cis-gender female student-athletes is an “assault on girls’ equality of opportunity and even their physical safety.”

“Males possess certain physiological advantages that make them faster and stronger,” Rokita said. “And it’s unconscionable to ignore these scientific realities. The Left must stop sacrificing women’s well-being on the altar of transgender woke-ism.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is who filed the original lawsuit against the Indianapolis Public School district which is where the 10-year-old’s softball team is located.

The ACLU of Indiana declined IndyStar’s request for comment on Thursday.

The plaintiff, who filed the lawsuit under her initials A.M., began identifying as a girl before she was four years old, according to Magnus-Stinson’s order. Her birth-assigned sex was male, Magnus-Stinson wrote, but in 2021 a state court changed the gender marker on her birth certificate to female.

The judge’s order only applies to the case of the 10-year-old.

The law was passed by both chambers in the state legislature earlier this year. Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, wrote the bill that became law. On the Statehouse floor, she said it was written to “maintain fair competition in girls’ sports now and in the future.”

Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed the bill in March. He said it attempted to target a problem that doesn’t exist in Indiana.

“It implies that the goals of consistency and fairness in competitive female sports are not currently being met,” Holcomb wrote in a letter explaining his veto. “After thorough review, I find no evidence to support either claim even if I support the overall goal.”

Both the state House and Senate overrode Holcomb’s veto in May, clearing the way for the law to take effect in July.

Advocates for the LGBTQ community have criticized the law, saying it is discriminatory and could further marginalize an already-vulnerable population of children who want to fit in and play sports with their friends.

IndyStar reporter Johnny Magdaleno contributed to this reporting.

Reference: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2022/09/08/todd-rokita-files-appeal-on-injunction-of-transgender-sports-law/66846636007/

Continue ReadingIndiana AG Todd Rokita files appeal on injunction of transgender sports ban law