Published: June 02, 2023
By: Jenna Bridges, LSU Manship School News Service
Rep. Raymond Crews sponsored a bill that would prohibit teachers from using a student’s preferred name or pronoun without parental approval.
BATON ROUGE, La. —The Senate Education Committee advanced bills Thursday that would ban discussion of gender and sexual orientation in schools and prohibit teachers from using a student’s preferred name or pronoun without their parent’s written permission if it differs from their biological sex.
The bill to restrict gender discussion was modeled after a Florida law that critics refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The Louisiana version, House Bill 466, was sponsored by Rep. Dodie Horton, R-Haughton.
The other bill, House Bill 81, would require parents to submit a form in order for public school teachers and employees to use a name that is not on the student’s birth certificate or to use pronouns that are not in accordance with the student’s sex. Rep. Raymond J. Crews, R-Bossier City presented that bill.
Crews’ bill passed 3-1. Three Republicans– Sen. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles; and Sen. Robert Mills, R-Minden; and Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton—voted for the bill. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, opposed it.
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