North Dakota Legislature Passes Bill That Makes Teachers Use Students’ Biological Pronouns

The North Dakota House approved a bill on Wednesday that would require teachers to refer to students using pronouns that correspond with their biological sex.

In a 60-32 vote, the state house passed Senate Bill 2231, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Larry Luick and state Sen. Scott Meyer, which mandates that public school teachers must use a students’ biological sex pronouns unless parents give permission for them to do otherwise. The bill cleared the state senate in February and now heads to Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s desk. (RELATED: Wisconsin Schools Adopt Measures Requiring Parental Permission For Name, Pronoun Change)

“This is a back-to-the-basics bill,” Republican state Rep. Lori VanWinkle, told the Center Square. “We are returning to the required constitutional obligations as lawmakers regarding education. Teachers are also able to rest with relief that they only need to remember one pronoun and a set of historically recognized and biological pronouns.”

The legislation would also prevent school districts from adopting policies that direct teachers on how to handle gender identity issues. Under the bill, school districts cannot mandate professional development sessions on such topics.

“It’s another week of a legislative session, and we have another bill that’s telling certain people that they have value or don’t have value in our state,” Democratic state Rep. Josh Boschee told the Associated Press.

Lawmakers across the country are pushing for legislation that would require parental permission for a student to change their pronouns at school; Republican California Rep. Doug LaMalfa sponsored the “Prohibiting Parental Secrecy Policies in Schools Act” in Congress which would withhold federal funding from schools if they do not implement policies which require parental permission before a student can change their pronouns. In California, state Rep. Bill Essayli introduced a piece of legislation which would give public school administration three days to alert parents if their child is changing their gender at school.

Luick and Meyer did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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