Republican lawmakers have introduced a new bill at the Ohio Statehouse that would prohibit public school staff from referring to transgender students by any name not listed on their original birth certificate.
Public schools found not in compliance could risk losing a percentage of critical state funding.
Ohio House Bill (HB) 190 “The Given Name Act,” applies exclusively to transgender students and would not prevent cisgender students from using shortened versions of common names such as Anthony, Michael or Elizabeth.
The bill is nearly identical to anti-transgender model legislation crafted by the Heritage Foundation – the massively influential far-right think tank behind anti-LGBTQ+ Project 2025.
What is ‘The Given Name Act’?
HB 190 would explicitly prohibit faculty and staff in Ohio public schools from “knowingly and intentionally” doing any of the following:
- “[Requesting] students offer their transgender names or pronouns”
- Calling students “by a name or pronoun not aligning with the student’s biological sex without written permission by a parent or legal custodian.”
- Informing students of their own pronouns or title “if the pronouns or title are inconsistent with the employee’s or contractor’s biological sex.”
- “[Requesting] that a student provide preferred pronouns or a title that is inconsistent with the student’s biological sex.”
- Calling students “a name other than the name listed on the student’s birth certificate, or a derivative of the name listed on the student’s birth certificate, without the written permission of the student’s parent, legal guardian or custodian.”
- “[Requiring] a public school employee or contractor to address any individual using a name other than the individual’s legal name, or a derivative of that name, or by a pronoun or title that is inconsistent with the individual’s biological sex.”
- Using any “pronoun or title” for students deemed “inconsistent with the student’s biological sex unless the employee or contractor has the written permission of the student’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian.”
Additionally, the bill explicitly requires that educators and other school employees report transgender or gender-expansive students to school administrators in the event that they ask to be addressed by a new name or pronouns in the classroom:
“If a student requests accommodation from a public school employee or contractor that is intended to affirm the student’s gender identity, including a request that the employee or contractor address the student by a name, pronoun or title that is inconsistent with the student’s biological sex, the employee or contractor shall report that request to a school administrator, and the school administrator shall report the student’s request to the student’s parent.”
The bill would also require the state’s Department of Education and Workforce to establish new procedures for collecting and evaluating complaints around alleged violations of the law.
Withholding state education funding
The Given Name Act outlines several punitive measures for violating the law, including an investigation by Ohio’s Department of Education and Workforce and “ten percent of state funding withheld monthly until the school is found to be in compliance.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, Ohio ranks 36th in spending and funding and currently provides $9.74 billion in state funding for K-12 public education – totaling roughly $5,796 per year for each of Ohio’s 1.6 million public school students.
HB 190 outlines that an as-yet-determined complaint process would be established for parents to submit alleged violations.
Anti-LGBTQ+ groups gain influence
HB 190’s sponsor, Rep. Johnathan Newman (R-Troy), is a first-term legislator and a “pastor entrepreneur,” with ties to Ohio’s Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), a politically conservative Christian lobbying organization that was designated as an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) between 2015-2017.
Co-sponsored by conservative Christian Ohio State Reps. Josh Williams (R-Oregon) and Gary Click (R-Fremont) – both of whom have strong anti-LGBTQ+ voting records – the bill is nearly identical to model legislation drafted and published by the Heritage Foundation.
Journalists at USA Today reported the Heritage Foundation “had a strong hand in staffing and policy decision” during the early days of Trump’s first administration.
Since then, the group has become even more influential in U.S. public policy, drafting dozens of pieces of model legislation and authoring Project 2025, a massive presidential transition plan the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called “a federal policy agenda and blueprint for a radical restructuring of the executive branch.”
According to a recent analysis by Politico, many elements of Project 2025 have already been implemented at the federal level, including Trump’s two recent executive orders banning transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military and recognizing “two sexes, male and female.” 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- The Buckeye Flame’s Ohio LGBTQ+ legislation guide for 2025 can be found here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio state senator, click here.
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