A bill proposed by Republican lawmakers in the Arizona state legislature would prohibit teachers from using a student’s “preferred pronouns” without parental consent.
“An employee or independent contractor of a school district or charter school may not knowingly address, identify or refer to a student who is under eighteen years of age by a pronoun that differs from the pronoun that aligns with the student’s biological sex unless the school district or charter school receives written permission from the student’s parent,” the proposed bill reads.
The bill was pre-filed on Dec. 20 by state Senator-elect John Kavanagh. (RELATED: Man Imprisoned For Murdering Parents And Family Dog Now Listed As Female In Prison Records)
“Under my bill you can call a person by a different pronoun or you can even call the person by a name associated with the opposite biological gender, so long as the parents have given permission,” Kavanaugh said of the legislation.
The Arizona proposal, aimed at transgender and nonbinary students, comes on the heels of a year marked by a wave of anti-LGBTQ laws across the country, report @ArizonaMirror and @statesnewsroom.https://t.co/HbD3veYrKV
— Sean Scully (@EditorSean) December 28, 2022
The Arizona legislature will reconvene on Jan. 9, 2023. Republicans in the state held onto both chambers of the legislature in the midterm elections, but Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs will replace Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.
Ducey signed a bill in March 2022 banning sex change surgeries for children, and another banning biological men from competing in women’s sports.