Ohio’s bill to forcibly out LGBTQ+ students to their parents moves ahead in the Senate

State lawmakers on Tuesday gave testimony to advance a bill that would force all Ohio public school teachers and school staff — including school social workers, counselors and school psychologists — to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents. 

HB 8, called “The Parents Bill of Rights” by its Republican sponsors, passed the Ohio House of Representatives in June and now begins its process in the Senate, starting in the Education Committee. 

The bill also requires parent notification with regards to any representation of LGBTQ+ identity in the K-12 curriculum. This could include depictions of same-sex parents in children’s books, a student’s show-and-tell of a napkin from their sibling’s same-sex wedding or the screening of a new Disney movie.

Reps. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton), the bill’s sponsors in the House, provided brief testimony at Tuesday’s hearing before answering a few questions. 

“In HB 8, the school district is prohibited from keeping changes in the health of the student from their parent, and the school district is also prohibited from encouraging the student to hide these issues from their parents,” Swearingen said. 

Senators on the committee approved new language for the bill that more specifically defined the words “age and developmentally appropriate” to mirror other statutes. 

At no point during the 15-minute hearing was LGBTQ+ identity referenced.

LGBTQ+ advocates have labeled HB 8 the “Unsafe Students Act,” highlighting the detrimental effect it would have on all of Ohio’s students, not just LGBTQ+ students.

“Should this bill pass, all students are likely going to be presented with a message at the start of next school year: ‘Due to recent legislation, school staff are now required to report to your families,’” said Heather Fairs of the Ohio School Counselor Association at a hearing in May. “This message will likely be jarring and feel like a violation for students.” 

HB 8 has also been labeled a “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bill due to the parental-notification portions regarding the curriculum.

“Proponents of this bill specifically conflated the acknowledgment of LGBTQ+ identities with ‘sexually explicit content,’” said Maria Bruno of Equality Ohio said at a May hearing. “To someone who is offended by the mere existence of LGBTQ+ people, the mention of [LGBTQ+] identity is implicitly a reference to sexually explicit content. This has the potential to severely censor families of LGBTQ+ people.”

Specifically regarding LGBTQ+ students, advocates have tried to stress that the forced-outing mandates by HB 8 would endanger an already vulnerable population.

“You are considering a bill that will increase the likelihood that children will take their own lives,” said Dr. Jennifer Simkins-Bullock, a neuropsychologist, at a May hearing.

HB 8 must pass through the Education Committee before heading to the full Ohio Senate for approval. If the bill passes the Senate, it would head to Gov. Mike DeWine for his signature. 🔥

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• Reach out to the Senate Education Committee to make your thoughts known on the ‘Parents Bill of Rights.’