Text of US HB 7981 (2026)

I 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7981 To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit funds under such Act from being provided to public elementary and secondary schools that provide counseling, therapy, or guidance related to gender identity to students under 18 years of age, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 18, 2026 Mrs. LUNA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce A BILL To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to prohibit funds under such Act from being provided to public elementary and secondary schools that provide counseling, therapy, or guidance related to gen- der identity to students under 18 years of age, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Stop Secret Counseling 4 of Students Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Mar 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7981.IH H7981 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 7981 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON GENDER-RELATED COUNSELING 1 IN PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 2 SCHOOLS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 2 of part F of title VIII 4 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 5 (20 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 6 the following new section: 7 ‘‘SEC. 8549D. PROHIBITION ON GENDER-RELATED COUN- 8 SELING. 9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No funds under this Act may be 10 provided to a public elementary or secondary school that 11 violates the requirements described in subsection (b). 12 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements described 13 in this subsection for a public elementary or secondary 14 school are the following: 15 ‘‘(1) An employee or a contractor may not pro- 16 vide a student under 18 years of age with coun- 17 seling, therapy, or guidance related to gender iden- 18 tity, including assisting with creating a gender sup- 19 port or social transition plan. 20 ‘‘(2) An employee or a contractor may not— 21 ‘‘(A) encourage students to hide informa- 22 tion regarding the gender identity or social 23 transition of the student from parents; or 24 ‘‘(B) provide guidance to students on how 25 to hide such information from parents. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Mar 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7981.IH H7981 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 7981 IH ‘‘(c) RIGHT OF ACTION.—A parent of a student may 1 bring a civil action for injunctive relief in any Federal dis- 2 trict court of appropriate jurisdiction against a public ele- 3 mentary or secondary school for a violation of a require- 4 ment described in subsection (b) by an employee or a con- 5 tractor of such school with respect to such student.’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 7 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 8 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 9 to section 8549C the following: 10 ‘‘Sec. 8549D. Prohibition on gender-related counseling.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:59 Mar 25, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7981.IH H7981 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB