Text of US HB 1585 (2023)

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1585 To require a State receiving funds pursuant to title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to implement a State policy to prohibit a school employee from conducting certain social gender transition interventions. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 14, 2023 Mr. LAMALFA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce A BILL To require a State receiving funds pursuant to title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to implement a State policy to prohibit a school employee from conducting certain social gender transition interven- tions. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prohibiting Parental 4 Secrecy Policies In Schools Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1585.IH H1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1585 IH (1) Parents are in the best position to know 1 their own child’s needs and circumstances, and 2 therefore they should maintain authority over all de- 3 cisions that could impact the health and well-being 4 of their children. 5 (2) The fundamental rights of parents over the 6 upbringing, education, and care of their children has 7 been unequivocally established in the United States. 8 (3) The fundamental right of parents to direct 9 the education of their children, including the right to 10 play a central role in what their children are learn- 11 ing shall be upheld. 12 (4) Academic success begins by embracing these 13 fundamental parental rights in our educational insti- 14 tutions. 15 (5) It is essential that parents’ voices are re- 16 spected and incorporated into the development of 17 academic curricula to ensure that their children are 18 receiving an appropriate education. 19 (6) Education must focus on academic subjects, 20 and, without exception, should not include personal 21 bias, personal political opinion, or indoctrination. 22 (7) A parent should have the right to opt-in re- 23 view and evaluate all survey, data collection, and 24 psychological profiling before it is administered to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:49 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1585.IH H1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1585 IH their students and parents should have the right to 1 opt-out of all such testing, survey participation, or 2 data collection. 3 (8) The traditional partnership between school 4 employees, students, and parents by involving par- 5 ents in the education of their children shall be 6 upheld. 7 SEC. 3. STATE POLICY PROHIBITING CERTAIN SOCIAL GEN- 8 DER TRANSITION INTERVENTIONS. 9 (a) SOCIAL GENDER TRANSITION INTERVENTION 10 WITH RESPECT TO A MINOR.—Not later than one year 11 after the date of the enactment of the this Act, to be eligi- 12 ble to receive funding pursuant to title II of the Elemen- 13 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 14 6601 et seq.) a State shall have in effect a State policy 15 prohibiting a school employee from— 16 (1) using pronouns for a minor that are incon- 17 sistent with the minor’s biological sex for the pur- 18 pose of recognizing or promoting a self-professed 19 identity that is incongruent with their biological sex, 20 without the consent of a custodial parent or legal 21 guardian; 22 (2) providing, promoting, referring to, or other- 23 wise assisting in the use of devices, medical and oth- 24 erwise, such as binders, packers, or padding, that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1585.IH H1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1585 IH promote changes to the minor’s physical appearance 1 so that it aligns with the opposite biological sex for 2 the purpose of recognizing or promoting a self-pro- 3 fessed identity that is incongruent with their biologi- 4 cal sex, without the consent of a custodial parent or 5 legal guardian; and 6 (3) carrying out any other action designed to 7 assist a minor in the promotion or adoption of their 8 self-professed gender identity and denial of their bio- 9 logical sex, without the consent of a custodial parent 10 or legal guardian. 11 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 12 (1) BIOLOGICAL SEX.—The term ‘‘biological 13 sex’’ means the biological indicators of male or fe- 14 male in the context of reproductive potential or ca- 15 pacity, such as sex chromosomes, naturally occurring 16 sex hormones, gonads, and non-ambiguous internal 17 and external genitalia present at birth, without re- 18 gard to an individual’s psychological, chosen, or sub- 19 jective experience of gender. 20 (2) GENDER.—The term ‘‘gender’’ means the 21 psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects 22 of being male or female. 23 (3) SCHOOL EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘school em- 24 ployee’’ includes— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1585.IH H1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1585 IH (A) a teacher, substitute teacher, school 1 administrator, school superintendent, guidance 2 counselor, psychologist, social worker, nurse, 3 physician, school paraprofessional or coach em- 4 ployed by a public elementary or secondary 5 school or local educational agency in a State; 6 (B) an individual associated with the ad- 7 ministration or financing of an extracurricular 8 activity hosted by or at a public elementary or 9 secondary school; or 10 (C) any other individual who, in the per- 11 formance of his or her duties, has regular con- 12 tact with students under the age of 18 years old 13 and who provides services to or on behalf of 14 such students enrolled in a public elementary or 15 secondary school, pursuant to a contract with 16 the public elementary or secondary school, State 17 educational agency, or local educational agency. 18 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 19 the several States, the District of Columbia, and any 20 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 21 States. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1585.IH H1585 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS