Louisiana House approves bill to let teachers reject student’s pronouns

House lawmakers approved a bill Monday that would back school employees who refuse to use a student’s chosen name or pronouns that differ from the ones given to them at birth. It would also allow a teacher to overrule a parent’s approval for their child to go by a different name.

House Bill 81, sponsored by Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, passed the chamber in a 61-33 vote. 

Under the proposal, school employees or volunteers would not be allowed to use a student’s preferred pronoun that differs from the gender listed on their birth certificate unless a student’s parent provides written permission. Even if a parent does provide permission, the bill would allow a teacher to ignore it based on religious or moral reasons.

“This is a culture war bill designed to impose one group’s values over the rest,” Rep. Joe Marino, I-Gretna, said. “This is not a parents’ rights bill unless the parents believe the same thing Rep. Crews does.” 

The bill makes no allowances for teachers who might hold a different religious or moral position and want to side with transgender students who get no support from their parents. Crews, the bill’s sponsor, said that only teachers who refuse to “participate in the deception” are protected under the legislation.

Crews did accept an amendment from Speaker Pro Tempore Tanner Magee, R-Houma, to address a potential situation in which a teacher chooses to overrule a parent’s permission. The amendment would allow the parent to request that their child be moved to a different teacher.

Fielding questions on the House floor, Crews admitted that no parents or teachers asked him to introduce the bill. Most of the letters in opposition that he has received have come from outside of his northeast Louisiana district, he said.

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Baton Rouge Rep. Barbara Freiberg, the only Republican who spoke against the measure, said the issue would be better served if it were left up to local school boards. 

Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, called the legislation one of the “most discriminatory bills we’ve had in a while.”

Crews said he just wants parents to “be in the know” if their children are going to school using a different name or pronoun than the one they were given at birth. 

His bill also allows any individual aggrieved by a violation to seek civil relief through a lawsuit. 

The legislation is similar to one still pending on the House floor by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton. It would create a version of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law in Louisiana but with much stricter provisions.