House Passes Owens Bill Protecting Children from Radical Gender Ideology and Strengthening Parental Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the House of Representatives passed the Stopping Indoctrination & Protecting Kids Act (H.R. 2616) This bill is a combination of House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg’s (MI-05) PROTECT Act and Rep. Burgess Owens’ (UT-04) Say No to Indoctrination Act, which were both passed by the Committee in April of last year.

The Stopping Indoctrination & Protecting Kids Act would require public elementary and middle schools that receive federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender markers, pronouns, preferred name on any school form, or sex-based accommodations such as locker rooms and bathrooms. Schools that fail to comply risk losing federal funding.

“There are only two sexes: male and female. Sex is a biological fact, not an ideological whim. Yet across the country, school districts are actively pushing radical gender ideology on children and, in some cases, facilitating social transitions without parental knowledge or consent. The Stopping Indoctrination & Protecting Kids Act is simple, any district that promotes these ideologies in the classroom or conceals a child’s gender transition from their parents will lose federal funding. Parents, not school administrators, have the ultimate right to make decisions about their children’s upbringing. The government should not be funding or pushing these radical ideologies on our children, this bill ensures that will be the case.”

Rep. Burgess Owens

“Too many schools are keeping parents in the dark about what’s happening in their own children’s classrooms, even going so far as to withhold critical information about their kid’s wellbeing and development. Families deserve honesty, not secrecy—especially when it comes to issues like gender identity. Simply put, parents should never be the last to know—that’s not political, it’s common sense. Meanwhile, political and ideological agendas are being pushed through curriculum without parents’ knowledge or consent, sidelining the very people responsible for raising these children. Parents don’t lose their rights at the schoolhouse door. It’s time to restore transparency and put parents back in the driver’s seat.”  

Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walber (R-MI)

Background:

The Stopping Indoctrination & Protecting Kids Act would:

• Require parental consent before any school changes a covered student’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name on any school form.

• Requires parental consent before a school changes a covered student’s sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.

• Apply to students in elementary school and middle grades (as defined under ESEA Section 8101).

You can find the full bill text here. You can see Rep. Owens’ Floor Remarks here.

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