Bills to ban US schools’ discussion of LGBTQ+ issues are threat to free speech - report

Republicans in states across America are targeting LGBTQ rights through a wave of "educational gag orders", a free speech group has warned, as conservatives battle to censor discussion of race and sexual identities in schools.

More than 100 bills censoring teachers have been introduced in state legislatures this year, according to a report by PEN America - a non-profit which works to protect freedom of expression in the US - in what the organization says is a "national assault on our education system".

The warning comes as conservatives have launched efforts to ban books pertaining to race and LGBTQ+ issues from classrooms in various states, while some legislatures are pushing to introduce laws which would ban teachers from discussing homosexuality.

"From book bans to educational gag orders, schools and universities are being threatened today to a degree that has no recent parallel," PEN America said. "There is a willingness, and even eagerness, to bring the weight and power of government to bear on controlling classroom speech."

In the last year, PEN America counted 155 bills introduced in 38 states that would censor what teachers can say or teach in classrooms. In 2022 there has been a "steep rise" in the introduction of what PEN America calls "gag orders", the organization said.

Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which would ban discussion of sexuality and gender identity in schools, has already been widely criticized, with Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, among those who have condemned the bill as dangerous.

The legislation was passed by the statesenate's education committee on February 8, and has been endorsed by Ron DeSantis, Florida's governor. The bill, which must pass the full Florida senate and the house before becoming law, would allow parents to file lawsuits against school boards if they believe policies violate the law.

A bill introduced in the Kansas house on February 9 would change the state's obscenity law, PEN America reported, making it a class B misdemeanor for a teacher to use any material which depicts "homosexuality" in a classroom.

In Arizona, Republicans have introduced a bill which would require parental consent for a student to join a school club "involving sexuality, gender or gender identity".

"As a result," PEN America said, "gay and bisexual students seeking support from their classmates would essentially have to out themselves to their parents first."

PEN America said the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation was linked to the anti-critical race theory (CRT) movement, which has seen some states ban discussion of the modern-day impact of historic racism in the US. CRT is an academic discipline that examines the ways in which racism operates in US laws and society.

"[The anti-critical race theory movement] has primed the public to support sweeping censorship of classroom speech. For anti LGBTQ+ activists, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, a chance to ram through bills that are far more restrictive than anything the public would normally accept. The goal is quite simply to lock LGBTQ+ topics on the wrong side of the schoolhouse gate," the report from PEN America said.