The Republican-controlled House of Representatives — with assistance from eight Democrats — approved legislation on May 20 that would require schools to forcibly out trans and non-binary youth, drawing condemnation from LGBTQ House Democrats who labeled the legislation as a “Don’t Say Trans” law.
HR 2616, which Republicans named the “PROTECT Kids Act,” would require public elementary and middle schools receiving federal funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to obtain consent from parents before respecting changes to a child’s pronouns, gender marker, or preferred name on any school form or “sex-based accommodations” such as locker rooms or bathrooms.
The legislation, carried by Congressmember Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan, faces extremely low chances of passage in the Senate. It was co-sponsored in the House by Republican Congresssmembers Burgess Owens of Utah, Mary Miller of Illinois, Robert Onder of Missouri, and Kevin Kiley of California.
The bill is almost identical to previous legislation passed by the House: In 2023, the GOP-led House passed the so-called Parents Bill of Rights Act, which would have required elementary or middle schools to similarly inform parents before a school changes a child’s gender marker, pronouns, or name on school forms. That legislation, like the one now, required parental consent before students could use different locker rooms or bathrooms.
The bill, which passed 217-198, was approved by 209 Republicans. New York’s GOP members of Congress — including Nicole Malliotakis, who represents the 11th Congressional District in Staten Island and Brooklyn, and Michael Lawler of the 17th Congressional District north of New York City — all voted in favor of it.
Notably, the latest bill’s passage was aided by more than a half-dozen Democrats who voted in favor of it — including New York-based Congressmember Laura Gillen of Nassau County. Gillen did not respond to a request for comment on May 21 to explain her vote.
The other Democrats who voted for the bill were Congressmembers Harry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Cleo Fields of Louisiana, Vicente González of Texas, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Eugene Vindman of Virginia.
“Republicans claim to be the party of small government, but they have no problem bringing the full force of the federal government down against children,” Congressmember Mark Takano, chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said in a written statement. “The GOP thinks they can legislate transgender people out of existence with this inhumane Don’t Say Trans bill, but all they’re doing is making life worse for a small minority of already-vulnerable children. I spent 24 years as an educator where I worked with hundreds of high school students and their parents. Most children go to their parents when they need help or are struggling — including transgender children — but not all parents are accepting. The forced outing provision of this bill puts teachers in an impossible situation by requiring them to out trans kids to their parents in certain situations — even if the teacher knows the student will likely face physical abuse. Students like these are who Republicans want to put in immediate physical danger with this bill.”
