The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that could force teachers to out transgender students to their parents before they’re ready.
The Associated Press reported that 65-29 vote came one day after a state Senate public health committee approved a ban on all gender-affirming transition treatments for those under 18. All Indiana House Democrats voted against the bill.
It also comes as other nearby states like Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio are also considering anti-LGBTQ bills.
Meanwhile, Illinois is advancing bills that would require insurance companies to cover gender-affirming care and expand gender-neutral bathroom access.
Republican bill author State Rep. Michelle Davis said Thursday that in voting for the bill, lawmakers could indicate their “support for parents making decisions for their children.”
The AP reported that the bill would also bar schools from disciplining staff who use “a name, pronoun, title, or other word to identify a student that is consistent with the student’s legal name.”
“My most powerful tool is my relationship with my students,” Democrat State Rep. Tonya Pfaff, a math teacher, told the news service. “If I refuse to call the student a name that they choose — that their parents agree with, because they told me writing — according to this bill, I can still refuse to use that. What kind of message does that send?”
“Schools should not shield a parent from knowledge about their child,” Davis told the AP. “In Indiana, we know that parents have a right to be involved in the upbringing of their children.”