Politico: House passes bill mandating parental consent on student pronoun use

The House passed a measure Wednesday to restrict schools from using a student's preferred name or pronouns without parental consent on a 217-198 vote.

The PROTECT Kids Act — H.R. 2616 — would strip federal funds from public elementary and middle schools that don't obtain parental permission before altering a student’s name, gender or pronouns in its records.

Eight Democrats joined Republicans to support the bill: Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Cleo Fields (La.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Marcy Kaptur (Ohio), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) and Eugene Vindman (Va.).

Fifteen lawmakers — including nine Republicans — did not vote on the measure.

Republicans on the House floor argued the bill would prevent schools from making a decision that parents should make. Democrats pushed back, saying the bill wouldn’t work well in practice and that school policies on gender identity disclosure should be left to local control.

House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), who introduced the measure, said the bill is a step to “restore parental rights and educational sanity.”

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