The House passed legislation Wednesday requiring elementary and middle schools to obtain explicit parental consent before changing a student’s pronouns or making other sex-based accommodations.
In a 217-198 vote, the chamber approved the Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act, which would condition certain federal funding on schools complying with the policy.
The measure was introduced by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, in response to concerns from parents who said schools were not informing them about efforts by students to change their gender identity or pronoun usage, the New York Post reported.
“For years, concerned parents have felt ignored as education bureaucrats push radical agendas in schools without their knowledge or input,” Walberg said on the floor of the House in defense of the legislation.
“Schools are facilitating gender transitions or encouraging their students to change their names and pronouns without telling parents. These are enormously consequential decisions that have lasting impacts on a child’s well-being and development,” he added.
“Parents deserve to be part of those conversations,” he continued.
Several high-profile disputes have emerged recently involving school districts accused of helping students conceal their transgender status from parents, leading to multiple lawsuits nationwide.
Last month, The Post reported on a lawsuit against a school district in Connecticut over a policy stating that schools “should not disclose information that may reveal a student’s transgender status or gender nonconforming presentation to others, including parents/families/legal guardians.”
Under the House-passed legislation — also known as the PROTECT Kids Act — schools would be required to obtain parental consent before changing a student’s gender markers in school records or allowing the student to use bathrooms or locker rooms designated for the opposite sex.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) opposed the bill on behalf of Democrats, claiming that it would violate laws preventing federal intervention in classroom curriculum.
“This bill takes away state and local control of curriculum, the very thing that the current administration claims they’re giving back to states by illegally dismantling the Department of Education,” he said.
“Parental involvement is important, and I support that, and it works in virtually all cases,” he continued.
“But this bill is not about involvement, it’s about federal coercion, forcing schools into a situation where they may have to disclose sensitive information about a student even when they know it could put that child’s safety at risk,” he claimed.
The Trump administration put out a policy statement saying the president “strongly supports” the bill.
“Parents are the first and foremost educators and protectors of their children,” it began.
“Yet radical school districts across America have allowed gender ideology indoctrination in schools, even to the point of allowing teachers and other government officials to secretly attempt to socially ‘transition’ a child away from his or her sex without the knowledge or consent of the child’s parents,” the statement continued.
“These policies not only violate existing Federal law, but also betray the trust parents place in schools to educate, not indoctrinate, their children,” it said.
“On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14168, ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,’ which recognized that there are only two sexes, male and female, and directed agencies to eliminate the promotion of gender ideology,” the statement continued.
“Shortly thereafter, on January 29, 2025, President Trump issued E.O. 14190, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,’ which directed Federal agencies to end the use of Federal funds in K-12 schools from supporting ‘the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology,” the White House noted further.
“The E.O. also directed Federal agencies to protect parental rights, including under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA),” it said.
