Ohio Republicans pass ‘Don’t Say Gay/Trans’ bill without a full hearing, reject LGBTQ+ advocate testimony

Ohio House Bill 8, the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” passed out of the Primary and Secondary Education committee on Tuesday in a 15-minute hearing that featured no opportunity for opponents to testify in person before the committee. 

The bill would force all teachers and school staff — including social workers and school counselors — to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents, even if there is suspected anti-LGBTQ+ abuse within the home.

The bill also requires parental notification regarding materials in the curriculum that include any description of “sexuality concepts or gender ideology.”

LGBTQ+ advocates say the language  amounts to a “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bill that could result in major safety risks to LGBTQ+ students and censorship in school curricula across the state. 

Testimony: Blocked

HB 8 was amended last week to include an incorrect definition of “biological sex” that also appears in Ohio’s new bathroom bill. The amendment also included new language around “sexuality” and a more explicit mandate for parental notification regarding “any request by a student to identify as a gender that does not align with the student’s biological sex.”

There was no opportunity during last week’s hearing for individuals to offer public testimony in response to the new amendments. 

A call for testimony for Tuesday’s hearing went out on Monday morning, only 3.5 hours before the deadline. 

A coalition of 12 LGBTQ+ and ally organizations released a joint statement decrying the short notice and articulating specific issues with the bill. They submitted the testimony at 3:01pm, one minute past the deadline. 

Their testimony was rejected. 

At Tuesday’s hearing, Rep. Phillip Robinson (D-Solon) asked Committee Chair Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) to allow in-person testimony, but Bird refused. 

“We proceeded according to House rules,” Bird said. 

Rep. Ron Jones (R-Freeport) extolled the virtues of the bill, highlighting the importance of parental involvement in education. He then dismissed the concerns that had been expressed by LGBTQ+ advocates, which included increased safety risks for LGBTQ+ youth and a loss of trusted and safe adults to whom they could turn for support. 

“At some point in school, we all thought life wasn’t fair,” Jones said. 

The committee then passed HB 8 by a vote of 10-5, with all ten Republicans voting for the bill and all 5 Democrats voting against. 

The bill now heads to the full Ohio House where it is expected to be passed as early as Wednesday. 

LGBTQ+ orgs outraged

The blocked testimony was co-signed by 12 Ohio-based LGBTQ+ and ally organizations: Equality Ohio, Kaleidoscope Youth Center, TransOhio, Trans Allies of Ohio, Honesty for Ohio Education, Children’s Defense Fund-Ohio, YWCA Columbus, LOVEboldly, Equitas Health, Defense of Democracy, Ace and Aro Alliance of Central Ohio, and the Ohio Federation of Teachers. 

In an e-mail accompanying their rejected public testimony, the organization leaders articulated the troubling evolution of the bill. 

“In the past several weeks, HB 8 has been amended and transformed into a bill that would censor any mention of LGBTQ+ identities in schools. The second iteration of the bill made it a full forced-outing bill (even if children would be subjected to abuse), and the third iteration adopted Don’t Say Gay/Trans language.”

Their testimony pushed back against the 3.5 hours that the committee allowed organizations to contact stakeholders, recruit people to draft testimony and make the community aware of the opportunity to submit comments in opposition to HB 8. 

“3.5 hours notice is not a meaningful opportunity to participate in the legislative process, and we will not play along to pretend that it is. While we look forward to engaging in meaningful conversation about the merits of this bill, it’s clear that this ‘opportunity’ is nothing more than a stunt to avoid criticism.”

The rejected testimony concluded by highlighting that the committee set a “dangerous precedent” by making substantive changes to a bill without allowing additional testimony:

“These actions run counter to participatory democracy, which is the basis for the Ohio Constitution that says power rests in the hands of the people.” 🔥

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Ignite Action

• Concerned Ohioans are urged to contact their representatives immediately. Go HERE to enter your address to find out who represents you. Then contact them. Immediately. And make your thoughts known on HB 8.