118 HR 1585 IH: Prohibiting Parental Secrecy Policies In Schools Act of 2023 U.S. House of Representatives 2023-03-14 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 1585IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESMarch 14, 2023Mr. LaMalfa introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the WorkforceA BILLTo require a State receiving funds pursuant to title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to implement a State policy to prohibit a school employee from conducting certain social gender transition interventions.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Prohibiting Parental Secrecy Policies In Schools Act of 2023.

2.

Findings

Congress finds the following:(1)Parents are in the best position to know their own child’s needs and circumstances, and therefore they should maintain authority over all decisions that could impact the health and well-being of their children.(2)The fundamental rights of parents over the upbringing, education, and care of their children has been unequivocally established in the United States.(3)The fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children, including the right to play a central role in what their children are learning shall be upheld.(4)Academic success begins by embracing these fundamental parental rights in our educational institutions.(5)It is essential that parents’ voices are respected and incorporated into the development of academic curricula to ensure that their children are receiving an appropriate education.(6)Education must focus on academic subjects, and, without exception, should not include personal bias, personal political opinion, or indoctrination.(7)A parent should have the right to opt-in review and evaluate all survey, data collection, and psychological profiling before it is administered to their students and parents should have the right to opt-out of all such testing, survey participation, or data collection.(8)The traditional partnership between school employees, students, and parents by involving parents in the education of their children shall be upheld.

3.

State policy prohibiting certain social gender transition interventions

(a)

Social gender transition intervention with respect to a minor

Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the this Act, to be eligible to receive funding pursuant to title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6601 et seq.) a State shall have in effect a State policy prohibiting a school employee from—(1)using pronouns for a minor that are inconsistent with the minor’s biological sex for the purpose of recognizing or promoting a self-professed identity that is incongruent with their biological sex, without the consent of a custodial parent or legal guardian;(2)providing, promoting, referring to, or otherwise assisting in the use of devices, medical and otherwise, such as binders, packers, or padding, that promote changes to the minor’s physical appearance so that it aligns with the opposite biological sex for the purpose of recognizing or promoting a self-professed identity that is incongruent with their biological sex, without the consent of a custodial parent or legal guardian; and(3)carrying out any other action designed to assist a minor in the promotion or adoption of their self-professed gender identity and denial of their biological sex, without the consent of a custodial parent or legal guardian.(b)

Definitions

In this section:(1)

Biological sex

The term biological sex means the biological indicators of male or female in the context of reproductive potential or capacity, such as sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, gonads, and non-ambiguous internal and external genitalia present at birth, without regard to an individual’s psychological, chosen, or subjective experience of gender.(2)

Gender

The term gender means the psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female.(3)

School employee

The term school employee includes—(A)a teacher, substitute teacher, school administrator, school superintendent, guidance counselor, psychologist, social worker, nurse, physician, school paraprofessional or coach employed by a public elementary or secondary school or local educational agency in a State;(B)an individual associated with the administration or financing of an extracurricular activity hosted by or at a public elementary or secondary school; or(C)any other individual who, in the performance of his or her duties, has regular contact with students under the age of 18 years old and who provides services to or on behalf of such students enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school, pursuant to a contract with the public elementary or secondary school, State educational agency, or local educational agency.(4)

State

The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.