Local teachers don't back 'divisive' bill on student pronouns; most Evansville-area local lawmakers do

The bill, which addresses the teaching of human sexuality and students' use of preferred pronouns, passed out of the Indiana House 65-29 on Feb. 23 and will directly impact day-to-day operations within local classrooms.

Republican Reps. Wendy McNamara, District 76, and Tim O'Brien, District 78, voted in favor of it. Democratic Rep. Ryan Hatfield, District 77, voted against the bill. Other area House members to vote in favor of the bill were Republican Reps. Matt Hostettler, Patoka, and Cindy Ledbetter, Newburgh.

The bill is now in the Senate.

McNamara and O'Brien did not return a request for comment. Hatfield said he voted against the bill because it is a part of an effort by Republicans to legislate LGBTQ Hoosiers into "non-existence."

"It's a message bill with a mean message," he said in a statement to the Courier & Press. "I didn't come to the legislature to be mean to people."

Hatfield said it's also a solution in search of a problem.

"When I talk to constituents, school administrators, parents and teachers, I hear about staff shortages fueled by inadequate pay and learning-loss challenges. I'd rather we focus on those issues," he said. "A teacher's most valuable tool to ensure students learn what they need to learn is establishing a good rapport with that student – and this bill will undercut that working relationship and trust."

What the bill says

Speaking to the House prior to the bill's passage, its author, Rep. Michelle Davis, (R-Whiteland) said the bill came from listening to numerous concerns from parents in her district that curriculum be age appropriate. Davis represents House District 58 which is a northeastern part of Johnson County.

"The goal of House Bill 1608 is to empower Hoosier parents by reinforcing that they are in the driver's seat when it comes to introducing sensitive topics to our young children," she said.

Davis said parents know their children best, and their authority should not be overruled by teachers and administrators.

"Schools should not shield a parent from knowledge about their child," she said.

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The bill includes two distinct areas. The beginning address the teaching of "human sexuality" to students in kindergarten through third grade. The bill prohibits that instruction, which led some to question if that was an actual issue in schools.

House education committee member Democrat Rep. Tonya Pfaff, Terre Haute, asked Davis if sex ed currently was being taught at those grade levels.

"Not that I'm aware of," Davis said.

The bill would also lay out rules for using students' preferred pronouns, or possibly a different name.

A teacher of staff member could only use the students' preferred pronouns and name if:

• • The student who is an adult or emancipated minor, or their parent, has requested in writing to use those forms of identification
• • The request is submitted at the start of the school year

If a student makes a request to use a specific pronoun or name that is "inconsistent" with their sex, and they are not an unemancipated minor, a school must notify the student's parent.

A school also cannot discipline a teacher or staff member for not using the student's preferred pronouns or name.

Opponents of the bill rally in Indianapolis

Public school teacher Carissa Dollar, a mother to two LGBTQ daughters, opposed HB 1608 during its committee hearing Feb. 20.

"Young children in particular need to know they are accepted at school and their families are welcome there," she said. "If children and their families don't feel welcome from the beginning, then it impacts their entire school experience."

Public schools serve all students, who come from different backgrounds and experience various family dynamics, she said. 

"Please do not take away my right to respect my students' identities," Dollar said. "Students experience a sense of belonging when they see themselves and their family reflected in the school curriculum."

Emma Vosicky said she was there in that role executive director of GenderNexus, as well as an attorney, parent, lesbian and transwoman. GenderNexus is an organization that helps people who are "gender-diverse" with elements of transitioning such as finding doctors and therapists.

"Personally, I still feel the pain from the earliest days of knowing that neither I nor anyone else could simply see or accept me for me," she said. "I know from the inside how this bill harms and will continuously harm kids who are LGBTQ or families who are."

Vosicky said the pain she sees every day from both kids and adults in her work at GenderNexus will only be compounded by this bill as teachers and students will not be able to show up to schools as "their whole selves."

"It will drive LGBTQ people back into the closet," she said.

'They're trying to divide us'

Evansville Teachers Association President Lori Young said she doesn't see how the bill does anything to address issues corporations around the state are facing, such as teacher retention and recruitment.

“I don’t understand how this bill actually helps us address the teacher shortage we have in our state," she said. "I do know it’s divisive. It’s very political in nature what’s going on here.”

Young said she knows the bill has local families divided, but the EVSC already has policies in place addressing topics like non-discrimination and parental access to information.

Teachers are rule followers by nature, so if it does pass, teachers will follow the law, Young said. Even if they don't necessarily agree with it.

“But I always wonder, will that be the best thing for our students?" she said.

Young said there haven't been association-wide conversations on the impact this could have on relationships with their students, but she said those are likely happening in individual school buildings.

When a student trusts their teacher, it's easy to teach them, she said.

"Our students have rights. They should be treated with respect in our classrooms and this may very well cross the line, especially if someone wants to be called by maybe a different pronoun and you don’t call them that," she said. "It could upset the child, which makes teaching very difficult, when you’re not in the right state of mind to learn about a topic."

Addressing the teaching of human sexuality portion of the bill, Young said she has never heard that being taught to the grade levels noted in the bill.

“They’re trying to divide us,” she said. “I do feel most parents, most teachers, most everybody, they want their child to succeed at school and they appreciate where everyone is coming from.”

Young said legislators should ask teachers about the bills before they are filed, perhaps a panel of educators from around the state.

"I think some of the bills are truly divisive," she said. "They deal more with a political sense instead of dealing with things that directly impact our students."