Parents’ Bill of Rights clears Ohio legislature

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB 8 (“The Parents’ Bill of Rights”) into law on Wednesday. He did so behind closed doors, not televised as he did for another bill he signed into law the same day.

HB 8 will force teachers and school staff to out LGBTQ+ youth to their parents and will limit the mention of LGBTQ+ identity in school curricula. 

The bill requires that teachers and school staff – including school social workers, counselors and psychologists – notify a student’s parent of “any change in the student’s services, including counseling services, or monitoring related to the student’s mental, emotional or physical health or well-being.” 

The legislation specifically calls out trans identity as necessitating parental notification, and previous testimony has affirmed that disclosures of sexual orientation would also trigger parental contact. 

The bill further bans any mention of “sexuality content” in grades K-3 and mandates that such content be “age-appropriate” for all other grades. Sexuality content is defined in the bill as “written instruction, presentation, image or description of sexual concepts or gender ideology.” Nowhere in the bill is “gender ideology” defined. 

“I think the basis for it for me, if you’re a parent, you want to be informed what’s going on in your child’s life,” DeWine told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday. “Parents are the best teachers.”

“It’s about creating the right kind of culture educationally in Ohio,” added Lt. Gov. Jon Husted added.

DeWine was specifically asked by reporters about the part of HB 8 that would result in LGBTQ+ students being outed.

“We love these students as we love anybody else. They’re not only welcome in Ohio, but they’re welcome in our schools. We want to protect them as we protect every other student. But I do believe parents are the most likely people to help that child,” DeWine said.

The bill passed by the Ohio legislature during the last hour of their legislative session on December 19 also included language mandating that all schools find a time during the school day when students are able to leave school for religious instruction. 

DeWine had previously indicated he would sign the bill into law, specifically endorsing the language on release time for religious instruction. 

LGBTQ+ groups respond

Ohio’s LGBTQ+ organizations quickly responded to the governor’s signature.

TransOhio Executive Director Dara Adkison wanted to remind Ohioans that HB 8 will not remove trans students, faculty and parents from Ohio schools.

“No law can erase us, no matter how much some want that to be the case,” Adkison said. “We are here, we are queer, and we are a part of Ohio schools.”

Adkison also said that HB 8 is a dangerous violation of First Amendment rights for both faculty and students, particularly freedom of expression and the separation of church and state.

“TransOhio will be doing everything we can to mitigate the intended harm of this bill in coalition with partners who also care about Ohio students, unlike some of our elected officials, Adkison said.

Equality Ohio Executive Director Dwayne Steward highlighted that HB 8 had bipartisan opposition in the state legislature because “it did nothing to create a school that welcomes LGBTQ+ Ohio students as they are, and did nothing to support teachers in creating a safe learning environment.”

“It’s deeply disappointing that Gov. DeWine has signed HB 8 when it was opposed by educators and the LGBTQ+ community alike because it punishes teachers and staff for supporting LGBTQ+ students who are already targets of bullying and harassment,” Steward said. “We will continue to fight for an Ohio that makes all students feel safe and secure in their schools.”

Journey of the bill

DeWine’s signature completes a nearly two-year journey for the Parents’ Bill of Rights. 

HB 8 was one of the first eight bills introduced by Republicans in 2023, establishing it as one of their top priorities for this two-year legislative term. The bill has been labeled by LGBTQ+ advocates as the “Unsafe Students Act,” a “Don’t Say Gay/Trans Bill” and an endangerment to all LGBTQ+ youth in Ohio public schools. 

With a dozen hearings in House and Senate committees since its introduction nearly two years ago, opponents of the bill have submitted hundreds of pieces of testimony, outnumbering supporters of the bill by a margin of over 100 to 1. 

Opponents have included the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), who have repeatedly testified that HB 8 violates their professional guidelines and all tenets of a healthy therapeutic process by violating students’ “right and desires to privacy.”

Republican lawmakers have not been swayed by these arguments about professional ethics or standards, opting instead to repeatedly cast teachers and school staff as bad actors who are withholding information from parents.

The bill will take effect in 90 days. 🔥